Neighborhood Emergency
Preparedness Committee (NEPC)
Mission Statement
Incorporate the lessons learned by the national Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the York County Fire and Life Safety training programs to provide emergency preparedness information to our residents that would help ensure their health and safety during neighborhood critical incident events.
Specific Committee Duties:
- Provide Tabb Lakes residents with information regarding incident preparedness relating to home and family safety, including severe weather such as hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, power outages, and other events that could impact our HOA members.
- Within the limited capabilities of our HOA members and available individuals with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, organize assistance to our neighborhood after a major incident event.
- Within the limited capabilities of our HOA members and available individuals with CERT training, assist York County First Responders in our neighborhood when requested.
- When possible, notify and update the Board of Directors (BOD) about the condition of the neighborhood during and after a severe incident event.
- Advise the Board of Directors (BOD) on general questions concerning safety and preparedness issues in the neighborhood.
- Serve as the HOA liaison with the York County Dept of Fire and Life Safety Emergency Manager.
- When the committee has available licensed ham radio operators with equipment, maintain a liaison with the York-Poquoson Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) Emergency Coordinator (EC). Test and conduct routine ham radio communications with the York-Poquoson ARES EC. Participate in local York-Poquoson ARES communication exercises.
- Keep accurate records of committee activities.
- Prepare an annual budget for the Emergency Preparedness Committee.
- Present a briefing on the Emergency Preparedness Committee activities at the Tabb Lakes Homeowner Association (TLHA) annual membership meeting.
- Attend all BOD meetings and present a committee report. If a BOD meeting must be missed, forward a committee report to the BOD.
- Surrender all committee correspondence, equipment, supplies, etc. to the BOD upon terminating Chair duties.
What is New
As of: 8 August 2024
- See the lastest Hurricane
forecasts from NOAA, updated 8 August 2024 and from Colorado State University (CSU), updated 6 August 2024.
- Don't forget to replace your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors if they're over 10 years old.
Check that the batteries are fresh. Test them to be sure the work.
- Check out Virginia's Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) site for comprehensive downloadable preparedness brochures. For example, see how to deal with hurricane evacuation and in-land preparedness.
- Check out Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) excellent user-friendly
Ready site.
It contains a wealth of valuable, comprehensive, and easily understandable emergency prepardness information and checklists.
About Our Program
Things To Know
- York County has an agreement with radio station WXGM (FM 99.1) to broadcast York County specific information at set times during an emergency.
- Develop a checklist to prepare for hurricane season.
The Red Cross web site has one that you can download and use to prepare you and your family for hurricane season. Their web site is listed under Important Sites. - The York-Poquoson Red Cross conducts monthly
CPR and basic first aid training.
Check out their web site listed below for dates and locations or call 757-898-3090.
They also sell first aid kits and supplies. - A NOAA weather radio will provide you with
the latest severe weather conditions in our area.
They are inexpensive and easy to operate.
Ensure you have fresh batteries in it for the hurricane season. - VDOT has a web site that contains the
current road evacuation plan for the Peninsula.
Certain highway intersections will be blocked to traffic; know how you can get off the peninsula if required. Their web site is listed under Important Sites - The Tabb Lakes area is listed as code X
in the FEMA floodplain analysis maps.
That means that we should not be affected by the PRIMARY cause of flooding during a hurricane, which is tidal surge. The typical cause of our local flooding is from poor or inadequate stormwater drainage systems.
This is NOT identified by the FEMA floodplain analysis. - For new Tabb Lake residents, see the list of various brochures you should find interesting:
Red Cross Pamphlets:
Other Pamphlets:
Safety and Preparedness Articles
Reprints of articles from our neighborhood newsletter by the Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Committee
- Heating Things Up (PDF)
- Hurricane Evacuation Guide
- Hurricane Preparation (PDF)
- NOAA Weather Radio (PDF)
- Pad Mounted Transformer Safety (PDF)
- Poisonous Plants in our Homes and Neighborhood (PDF)
- Preparing family and home for Hurricane Season (PDF)
- Preparing for Hurricane Season (PDF)
- Preparing for Tornadoes (PDF)
- Resolve to be Ready (PDF)
- Winter and Holiday Safety (PDF)
Important Web Sites
Below are web sites to agencies that have information
and advice on how to prepare for emergencies.
Emergency Preparation Information | |
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Emergency Preparation Training | |
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Weather Information | |
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Hurricane Forecasts
NOAA 2024 ForecastsNOAA predicts highly active hurricane season likely to continue in the Atlantic
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Colorado State University (CSU) ForecastsFORECAST OF ATLANTIC SEASONAL HURRICANE ACTIVITY AND LANDFALL STRIKE PROBABILITY FOR 2024
as of 6 August 2024 Probabilities For At Least One Major (Category 3-4-5) Hurricane Landfall On Each Of The Following Coastal Areas:1) Entire U.S. coastline - 56% () (1880-2020 average is 43%)2) U.S. East Coast Including Peninsula Florida - 30% () (1880-2020 average is 21%)3) Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville - 38% () (1880-2020 average is 27%)Probabilities For At Least One Major (Category 3-4-5) Hurricane Tracking Into The Caribbean (10-20° N, 60-88° W)1) 61% () (1880-2020 average is 47%)(Up/Down arrows are changes from previous forecasts.)
Atlantic Basin Seasonal Hurricane Forecast For 2024
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Hurricane Preparedness Information
The Hampton Roads hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November. To ensure preparedness should a storm strike, families should begin hurricane preparations now. Two of the most important preparations are putting together a SURVIVAL KIT and developing an EVACUATION PLAN. |
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Documents:
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Prepare for high winds and possible flooding.
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PREPARE NOW! |
Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Committee (NEPC)
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact
We provide Tabb Lakes residents with information about preparing for emergency situations and training opportunities that are available to the community. Within our capabilities, we may organize homeowners after an event such as a hurricane to help our neighborhood and assist first responders in our neighborhood when requested.
- We are not a substitute for the York County's emergency management program or professional first responders.
- We are not a substitute for the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or State and Federal support aid.
- We will not provide nor store food, water or medicine for our neighborhood.
- Emergency sheltering during a storm is provided by the County.
- Individuals are responsible for preparing themselves and their families with the basic necessities appropriate for emergencies.
- Individuals and their families are responsible for following the instructions from County and State emergency management officials before, during, and after an event.
We rarely hold meetings with our committee members. Most of the communications is through e-mail. The committee chair does send our information to committee members, especially before a major event like a hurricane to keep people advised of what we are doing in the neighborhood.
After an event such as a hurricane, we may ask members to volunteer to help assess the damage in the neighborhood and possibly help clean up roads and stormwater systems. Our level of assessment and assistance to our neighborhood will depend on the number of volunteers we can assemble and their level of training. Individuals with CERT training have more capability in this regard and can be an excellent asset for our neighborhood.
Although not required, we encourage all our members to complete the York County CERT training program.
Contact
York County's CERT is a program to train individuals in basic first aid, light search and rescue, fire prevention, and disaster preparedness. The course is design to establish a core of trained volunteers in the neighborhoods that can meet the needs of their families and then their neighbors during an emergency or disaster.
To register for the CERT course, fill out the Registration Form and the Memorandum Of Understanding. Class dates are posted.
It is recommended, but not required. The Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Committee welcomes all neighborhood volunteers.
Visit the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) website about building a family communications plan that includes an evacuation plan and coordinates with your school, work, and community communication plans. Practice this plan with your entire family. Ensure you have a disaster supplies kit on hand.
Visit the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) website about building a disaster supplies kitthat includes enough supplies for each family member for three days. Remember to check your kit every six months. Our website has links to other organizations that provide detailed lists of supplies you should maintain for you and your family.
- Regional Information:
- Tune to one of the local television and/or radio stations.
- NOAA weather radio.
- York County Information:
- Live Stream on Cable: Cox channel 46, HD channel 86, & Verizon channel 38.
- The internet at www.yorkcounty.gov.
- WXGM-FM 99.1 (Should York County officially declare a local emergency for a disaster, tune to this station during its regular news broadcast on the hour to get the times when York County-specific disaster information will be announced.)
- One of the neighborhood fire stations.
- Tabb Lakes Neighborhood (and York County) Information:
- The Tabb Lakes Neighborhood Action Center location is the location where neighborhood volunteers can assemble to plan out our activities after a major event. The plan is to decide the location prior to an anticipated disaster event; however, we plan that to be located at 205 Monty Manor.
Amateur Radio
For better or worse, emergency planning has become an important part of our society. Each of us is being asked to develop the abilities to help ourselves and others in a disaster. Would you bet your life that the phones and Internet will still be working? Would you bet the lives of others? Even if they still function, phones and email based systems can be overwhelmed in a crisis, while critical calls are often blocked.
The
includes members with ham radio licenses who will be communicating with the York County Emergency Operations Center during emergency situations.Our radio operators have a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and have passed an examination for a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands."
We belong to the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), which is a national, voluntary organization of FCC licensed hams. ARES has provided emergency communications services for everything from shipwrecks to the disaster of 9/11. It is a specialized field requiring training and federal licensing. Each radio station operator is independent but we can still talk to each other.
Your family probably has already benefited from ARES!
- ARES' Skywarn program provides critical ground observations to the National Weather Service in storms.
- The National Traffic Service has provided long distance emergency communication and free radiograms for families for decades.
- The Red Cross uses ARES to provide emergency communications in a disaster. So do the Salvation Army, Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and hundreds of county and municipal governments.
Ham radio works:
- When the telephone land lines are down.
- When the fax machine doesn't work.
- When the internet is off-line or jammed.
- When the phone “trunk line” is jammed.
- When the cell phone is dead.
Are you interested in joining the Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Committee
as a ham radio operator? If so, please contact us at
The cost is minimal. Basic study materials for passing the FCC test and getting your initial license usually cost less than $40. You may study on your own or attend one of the classes that are held periodically throughout the Hampton Roads area. Taking part in one of these classes is the best way to go, but there are also other methods if your personal schedule is too hectic.
Note: Much of the information on this page is taken from www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio
NEPC Contact
Have a question or want to volunteer to participate in our
neighborhood emergency preparedness committee?
Contact Lou Lafrenaye, 205 Monty Manor, 757-867-8333,
Notices and Disclaimers
The Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Committee (NEPC) web sites identified and linked on these pages are provided solely for your convenience, and the contents of this page do not constitute any endorsement, referral or recommendation of any type whatsoever by the Tabb Lakes Homeowners Association (TLHA).
The Tabb Lakes Homeowners Association (HOA) does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use, validity, accuracy or reliability of, or the results of the use of, or otherwise respecting, the information on this page or any sites linked to this page including, but not limited to, information concerning or provided by third parties which is reachable from the site.
For Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Graduates
CERT Training Information | |
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Tabb Lakes Homeowner Association (TLHA): Emergency Response Program Legacy Documents - Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Forms, etc. |
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