{"id":2934,"date":"2015-04-30T09:46:01","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T13:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=2934"},"modified":"2015-04-30T09:46:01","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T13:46:01","slug":"power-outages-at-43015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=2934","title":{"rendered":"Power Outages & AT, 4\/30\/15"},"content":{"rendered":"

POWER OUTAGES & AT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contributed by Provi Sharpe, Director of Emergency Management and Reuse, MDTAP<\/em><\/p>\n

On April 7, 2015, an equipment failure at a power substation in Southern Maryland caused a widespread power outage that affected more than 8,000 people in the Washington, DC area.\u00a0 There are three types of power outages: blackouts, rolling blackouts and brownouts.<\/a><\/p>\n

Be prepared for a power outage.\u00a0 Call your power company if you use any power-dependent equipment to find out what emergency power services are available in your community.\u00a0 The Maryland Emergency Management Agency lists emergency contact information<\/a> for all companies that deliver electrical power to Maryland residents. \u00a0Have an extra battery if you use a motorized wheelchair or scooter. A car battery also can be used with a wheelchair but will not last as long as a wheelchair’s deep-cycle battery. If available, have a lightweight manual wheelchair for backup. Have a talking or Braille clock or large-print timepiece with extra batteries if you are blind or have a visual disability. Consider getting a small portable battery-operated television set if you are deaf or have a hearing loss. Emergency broadcasts may give information in American Sign Language or open captioning.<\/p>\n

For more safety tips visit Ready.gov<\/a> , the Center for Disease Control<\/a>, and the American Red Cross<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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