New York – October 29, 4PM ET – Hurricane Sandy is prepared to make landfall shortly. We are advising the public in affected areas to avoid elevators until the storm has completely passed.
Major storms including hurricanes and tropical storms can disrupt electrical power distribution. Electrical disruptions and outages will cause elevator entrapments if the elevator is in use when power is lost. In order to avoid becoming entrapped, elevators must not be used until the storm has passed. If an entrapment occurs response times may be excessive if emergency personnel are unavailable or if roads are impassable.
Rescuing entrapped passengers presents significant hazards to the passengers and emergency personnel even when there is not a major storm taking place. Therefore it is imperative that the public avoid elevators until Hurricane Sandy has completely passed. If you become entrapped, never attempt to escape the disabled elevator; Use the emergency phone or alarm bell to signal for help and wait to be rescued by emergency personnel or elevator personnel.
For more information on Hurricane Sandy, visit the National Weather Service National Hurricane Center For other information on hurricane preparedness visit FEMA at Ready.gov.
For information for building owners on how to prepare an elevator for a major storm or flood, check out Elevator World’s guide on preparing elevators for hurricanes.