Mimi sasa hivi naelekea hoteli ambayo imelipiwa na ofisi, halafu watatuma snowplow kuchukua wafanyakazi ili waweze kufanya shifti zao.
Mtaweza kusikia habari nilizoandika kuanzia saa 11 asubuhi (5:00am EST) HAPA:
**************************************
February 8, 2013
Mass bans vehicles at 4 p.m.; offenders face fine up to $500, 1 year in jail
BOSTON (AP) —
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency for
blizzard that could bring near 3 feet of snow.
Patrick
signed an executive order banning all vehicles from roadways starting
at 4 p.m. today. Ban applies to all roadways, including highways and
secondary roads. Any one caught driving after 4 p.m. faces up to one
year in jail and $500 fine.
Patrick
said the blizzard is “a profoundly different kind of storm than we have
dealt with” and the projected snowfall rate of two to three inches per
hour will “make safe travel nearly impossible.”
MEMA
Director Kurt Schwartz said that a similar executive order banning
vehicular travel went into effect after the “blizzard of ‘78” and said
he is unaware of any similar ban since then.
The
order is “outright ban on all roads” with no set time for when it will
be lifted. There are exceptions for public utility and health care
workers as well as delivery trucks and news media. Schwartz said that
the maximum penalty for people who violate the ban is one year
imprisonment.
There
are currently 1,000 National Guard troops, and Patrick said nearly
5,000 would be in place over the course of the weekend. The Department
of Transportation had 1,600 pieces of equipment on the roads around noon
on Friday, and planned to bring that number up to 4,000 as the storm
intensifies.
The
MBTA will send its last train out at 3:30 p.m., and turnpike tolls will
be opened starting at 2 p.m., Transportation Secretary Richard Davey
said. A total of 2,000 utility teams are in place, though work repairing
downed wires will not begin until the storm is over, according to
Patrick and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard
Sullivan.
"Prepare
for the possibility of being shut in and at home for the next 24 or 48
hours,” Patrick advised. He said drifts could grow to five feet and
while saying he understood the desire for some exploring once the storm
subsided, he asked people do so safely. “There are hazards under this
winter wonderland,” he said.
Patrick
advised people with generators to make sure to vent them, said people
with wells should fill their bathtubs with water, and the cooling
devices on refrigerators should be turned up.
More as it develops.
No comments:
Post a Comment