ANS Update: Hurricane Sandy links: updates and information

Hurricane Sandy links: updates and information

by pbowersox

Hurricane Sandy has gained strength and is en route to a predicted landfall late this evening, currently projected to be centered on the coast of New Jersey.  This Category 1 storm is very large and dangerous, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 175 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 485 miles from the center.  Residents and emergency preparedness officials in several states have ordered some evacuations of low-lying areas, shutdowns of mass transit, and similar preparations.

NASA satellite image from October 28 of Hurricane Sandy off the U.S. coast.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission this morning issued a press release outlining preparations and monitoring of the storm.  Nuclear plants receiving enhanced oversight during the storm include: Calvert Cliffs, in Lusby, Md.; Salem and Hope Creek, in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.; Oyster Creek, in Lacey Township, N.J.; Peach Bottom, in Delta, Pa.; Three Mile Island 1, in Middletown, Pa.; Susquehanna, in Salem Township, Pa.; Indian Point, in Buchanan, N.Y.; and Millstone, in Waterford, Conn.
Nuclear energy facilities are designed and built to withstand hurricanes, with a proven track record of success.  The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has an informative outline of general hurricane preparedness procedures now underway at each of the plants expected to be affected. You can also track how nuclear energy plants are responding to Hurricane Sandy via NEI’s blog at NEI Nuclear Notes.
Google has released a very useful interactive Hurricane Sandy tracker map to help those affected keep up-to-date.
Entergy Nuclear press release on Hurricane Sandy preparations.
Dominion Energy advisory to customers in advance of Hurricane Sandy.
Facebook pages from Indian Point Energy Center and power companies and in the affected region which provide storm updates and preparedness information:

• Constellation
• PPL Electric Utilities
• Dominion Virginia Power
• Entergy
• Duke Energy Storm

Useful Twitter accounts to follow include:

• US Nuclear Regulatory Commission @NRCgov
• Federal Emergency Management Agency @fema
• American Nuclear Society @ans_org
• Nuclear Energy Institute @N_E_I
• Constellation Energy Group @ConstellationEG
• Duke Energy Storm @DukeEnergyStorm
• Indian Point Energy @Indian_Point
• PPL Electric @PPLElectric
• Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) @PSEGNews

DirectTV subscribers, take note of the following message: In order to provide you with the most up to date information, we have set up channels 325 and 349, which will be airing coverage of Hurricane Sandy. Please tune to these channels to get the latest news and developments on the situation.
Sirius-XM satellite radio owners, please note that Sirius-XM has dedicated channels 1 and 184 to Weather Channel reporting on Hurricane Sandy. You can listen to Channel 1 (normally the preview channel) without a current subscription.
Do you have a useful (and credible) link for Hurricane Sandy nuclear-related updates that you don’t see here? Please post and we’ll add it!