Police, Electric Company Urge Residents To Prepare For Tropical Storm Hermine

PSE&G and local law enforcement are urging residents to be prepared as Tropical Storm Hermine continues to make its way north along the Atlantic coast.

New Jersey is under a tropical storm warning, with forecasters saying there is a potential Hermine will strengthen to hurricane status again by the time it reaches New Jersey Sunday.

The National Weather Service says the storm could bring a storm surge comparable to what was experienced during Superstorm Sandy, which brought surge of 8.8 feet.

PSE&G provided the following tips Saturday morning:

Before a storm: Ensure you have a battery-powered radio and fresh batteries. Check your supply of flashlights, blankets, nonperishable food and bottled water. Charge your cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices. Fill up your car’s fuel tank. Bring in unsecured objects and furniture from patios and balconies. Discuss storm and lightning safety with your family. Compile a list of emergency phone numbers. For non-emergency situations, call the local police department. For all emergencies call 911. Contact the PSEG Customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG. Sign up for a PSE&G My Account and bookmark the mobile-friendly homepage on your smart phone to report outages and check restoration progress. Register for PSE&G MyAlerts ahead of time to receive text notifications about an outage: https://www.pseg.com/myalerts

During a storm: Listen to news or radio for emergency updates. Give consideration to purchasing a NOAA Weather Alert radio to get severe weather alerts as they are broadcast by the National Weather Service. Avoid electrical equipment and telephones. Use battery-powered TVs and radios instead. Do not take a bath, shower or use plumbing. If driving, safely exit the roadway and park. Stay in the vehicle and turn on the emergency flashers until the heavy rain ends. Stay away from downed electrical wires. All downed wires should be considered dangerous. To report downed wires or power outages, residents should call PSE&G Customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG.Residents can also report power outages and view the status of their outage by logging in to their PSE&G My Account on www.pseg.com.

Stay in touch and keep informed: PSEG offers its customers a number of ways to stay in touch and informed before, during and after a storm. These tools can be found at PSEG's mobile-friendly website www.pseg.com in the Storm Center. Updated every 15 minutes, PSE&G's online Outage Map displays the location and status of power outages. To report power outages via text, and receive outage updates by text and email, sign up for PSE&G MyAlerts. Follow PSEG on Twitter and Facebook for tips and information about restoration progress. Be sure everyone in the family is prepared. Visit www.pseg.com/sesamestreet to download the PSEG and Sesame Street Lets Get Ready! emergency preparedness app for young children.