Press Release

Department of Safety
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Contact: Jim Van Dongen, 603-223-3710

Storm Updates from the State Emergency Operation Center
5 pm

President Obama today granted Governor Lynch's request for an emergency declaration for direct federal assistance for all 10 New Hampshire counties. The declaration will make available federal support for emergency debris removal, commodities and assistance for other emergency response activities that exceed state and local capabilities. The state will also continue to work with local communities and FEMA to determine if damage from the storm may warrant further federal assistance.

Flood danger in the North Country is diminished.

Two (2) shelters remain open:

• Auburn Safety Complex (0 occupants)
• Nashua High School South (11 occupants)

Other shelters have closed or gone to standby status. They could be reactivated if needed.

Utility outages total approximately 137,500 down from more than 210,000 at the peak. Most power restoration work is expected to be completed by Friday or Saturday.

• PSNH - 103,495
• Unitil - 7,814
• National Grid - 9,029
• Co-op - 17,148

This storm was the fourth worst in terms of the number of power outages. The others were:

1. December 2008 ice storm – 422,000
2. February 2010 wind storm – 310,000
3. October 2011 snow storm – 210,000

Road closures: 23 state roads, 198 local roads are closed. The most common cause of road closures is trees or wires down.