Lynchburg city leaders urge residents to have emergency kit ready in homes

City officials to send updates, notifications before Hurricane Florence all week

LYNCHBURG, Va. – All day Monday, department heads across the Hill City were meeting to talk about preparations for Hurricane Florence.

"We're a good page to follow for preparedness information, road closures, any emergency alert and also I would consider for signing up for Lynchburg Alerts,"  said Piper VanDePerre, emergency programs specialist.

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The Department of Emergency wants to encourage people to have an emergency kit in their homes. It should include a flashlight, canned foods, a can opener and hygiene products as well as water.

"We recommend one gallon of drinking water per person, per day that you're going to be sheltering yourself. So if you have a four person family and you're going to be sheltering yourself at home for three days, then you need 12 gallons of water," VanDePerre said.

For families who live downhill from the College Lake Dam and were evacuated in August because of the flood, the water resources department says come Friday, there's no telling how full the lake bed could get until the storm comes. But they will have their crew on standby.

"If it gets to the point where we need to put our emergency action plan into place and trigger an evacuation, then we'll have plenty of notice in advance because we're issuing that sooner than we did last time," said Jes Gearing, public information officer for the Water Resources Department.

City officials said they're prepared but the community should be ready, too.

"Any evacuation orders that go out, make sure you know your risks where you are. If you're a high flood risk, low flood risk, just have a plan... for yourself," VanDePerre said.