Leadership

Associations Help East Coasters Weather Winter Storm

Although the predicted blizzard of historic proportions failed to materialize in many places, associations worked to ensure millions of people along the East Coast were prepared for the worst.

As a potentially enormous winter storm bore down on New England and parts of the East Coast this week, a number of associations  stepped in to help keep the public safe and mobilized.

Mobility Options

In New York, with travel bans limiting public transportation options, the Greater New York Taxi Association offered free cab rides to first responders needing to get to work, as well as for disabled and elderly residents should they find themselves stranded.

While in Maine, where total snowfall was expected to exceed two feet and Gov. Paul LePage declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, the Maine Snowmobile Association began preparing snowmobile drivers to transport first responders to work should roads become impassable, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Safety First

Groups such as the National Fire Protection Association were advising the public on how to stay safe during the storm. NFPA, for example, warned that home heating equipment is the second-leading cause of house fires and house fire deaths in the United States and provided tips on monitoring heating equipment to prevent fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

“As everyone hunkers down during the storm, home heating systems will be kicking into high gear,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of outreach and advocacy, said in a statement. “Using that equipment safely and properly is paramount to preventing fires and other hazards while riding out the storm.”

Once people could go outside, the American Heart Association wanted to ensure they stayed safe during the snow removal process. The association released a list of shoveling safety tips to help people avoid injury while digging out. Almost 12,000 snow-shoveling related injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments every year between 1990 to 2006, according to a study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Business as Usual

Snow wasn’t going to put a damper on the domestic bond market. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recommended it stay open on Monday and Tuesday as New York City’s financial district dealt with the potential of an immobilized city, according to Reuters.

(TongRo Images/Thinkstock)

Katie Bascuas

By Katie Bascuas

Katie Bascuas is associate editor of Associations Now. MORE

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