Obama signs disaster declaration, cleanups underway

WPRI 12 reporters and meteorologists are covering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Southern New England. This page collects all the latest headlines and vital information about the storm.

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Do you have photos and videos of the storm or aftermath? Share them with us by emailing ReportIt@wpri.com.

This story is frequently updated as information changes - check back for the latest.

Latest News:

• National Grid reports electric and gas service has been fully restored to all customers. They are now focused on helping to restore damage and assist the areas of New York City and Long Island that were devastated by Superstorm Sandy.
• Westerly Police have closed Misquamicut to the general public.
• More than $500,000 in replacement SNAP benefits will be provided to those receiving benefits who lost frozen or perishable food during the storm.
• Narragansett Police charged three East Providence men with breaking into homes in evacuated neighborhoods during and after the hurricane.
• President Obama has signed a federal declaration of disaster for Washington, Newport and Bristol counties, paving the way for more federal money to make its way to Rhode Island to aid recovery efforts.
• Crews have begun repair work on Ocean Road in Narragansett.
• Residents on Charlestown Beach Road were allowed back to their homes for the first time since Sandy struck.
• Volunteers descended on Misquamicut Saturday morning to help residents clean up.
• The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency says teams have completed their initial damage assessment to public infrastructure but remain in the field inspecting other parts of the state.
• Fewer than 200  homes and businesses are still without power in Rhode Island after superstorm Sandy.
• AT&T is offering free charging stations at all of their locations for storm victims with phones and tablets from all carriers.
• Warwick police are hosting a clean-up event in Conimicut Village on Saturday. Anyone looking to volunteer should meet at the Warwick Police Conimicut Substation at 9 a.m.
• Homeowners are returning to Westerly, one of the areas in Rhode Island hardest hit by Sandy, and Charlestown along Charlestown Beach Road, to inspect the damage.
• Superstorm Sandy has forced Rhode Island tax officials to delay for a week state tax returns and payments that were due Wednesday.
• A cautionary boil-water advisory has been issued for seven water systems in the towns of Charlestown, Exeter, and Glocester. (Specific info in town-by-town breakdown)
• Due to storm damage, several communities have postponed trick-or-treating until Saturday.
• A 24-hour Disaster Distress Helpline is available for those strongly affected by the storm. The toll-free number is 1-800-985-5990.
• National Grid said power should be restored to a majority of customers by the end of the week.
  • 3,379 National Grid customers were still without power across RI as of 9:30 p.m. Friday. ( Power Outage Map).
• While The Coast Guard House in Narragansett sustained massive damage, owners said they have already begun to repair it.
• Rhode Island is set to get $3 million from the federal government to help repair roads damaged by superstorm Sandy.
• The Save the Bay Aquarium in Providence has been closed until further notice due to the damage it sustained during the storm.
• The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo will reopen Wednesday, and run as scheduled through Nov. 3.
• Flights have resumed at T.F. Green, but delays and cancelations across the country still widespread. ( WPRI.com Flight Tracker)

Cities & Towns

***If your city or town is not listed, there is no update.***

• Complete closings list
• Attleboro
  • Trash pickup will be delayed by one day.
• Barrington
  • Storm Surge Map
• Bristol
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Trash pickup for Monday-Wednesday postponed until next week.
• Burrillville
  • Trash pickup will be delayed one day.
• Charlestown
  • A cautionary boil-water advisory has been issued for:
    • Castle Rock Condominiums (401) 463-8448
    • Carousel Marketplace (401) 578-4171
    • Charlestown Commons (401) 364-3388
    • Lakeview LLC and Charlestown Early Learning System (203) 650-3558
  • Storm Surge Map
• Coventry
  • Trash pickup resumes Wednesday.
  • Yard waste pickup will resume Monday.
  • Parking ban no longer in effect.
• Cranston
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Starting Wednesday, Oct. 31, residents can return sandbags to Cranston Veteran's Ice Rink (900 Phenix Ave.)
  • The city will pick up large fallen limbs or trees. Contact Highway Dept. for pick up 401-942-9200. (Regular yard waste will not be picked up this week)
  • Modified trash pick up schedule:
    • Residents who have trash collected on Monday & Tuesday, put trash out for Wednesday pick up.
    • Residents who have trash collected Wednesday, put trash out for Thursday pick up
    • Residents who have trash collected Thursday, put trash out for Friday pick up
    • Residents who have trash collected Friday, put trash out for Saturday pick up
    • The no recycling bin, no pick up rule will be waived this week only.
• East Greenwich
  • Storm Surge Map
• East Providence
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Trash pickup will be delayed by one day starting with Tuesday collections on Wednesday.
  • Debris from hurricane can be dropped off at the Forbes Street compost site on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Only tree-related materials will be accepted, and residents must show a driver's license as proof of residency.
  • Veterans Memorial Parkway has reopened to traffic.
• Exeter
  • A boil-water advisory has been issued for Shady Acres, Inc. (401) 295-8520
• Glocester
  • Boil-water advisory issued for:
    • Chimera, Inc. in Chepachet (401) 783-4538
    • The Village on Chopmist Hill (401) 849-7442.
• Hopkinton
  • Storm Surge Map
• Jamestown
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Beavertail State Park is closed; no access south of Mackerel Cove.
  • Pet sheltering is available; call 423-1212 for information.
• Lincoln
  • All brush must be bundled in 4-foot lengths.
• Little Compton
  • Storm Surge Map
• Middletown
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Monday trash pickup moved to Wednesday; Tuesday, Wednesday trash pickup moved to Thursday; Thursday, Friday trash pickup on Friday.
• Narragansett
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Precinct 1 polling place moved from Beach Club House to community center for Election Day.
  • Reports of looting at Coast Guard House restaurant.
  • Narragansett is experiencing widespread power outages due to downed utility lines, poles and trees.
  • The seawall along Ocean Rd. is closed until the road is cleaned and DOT inspects the seawall and sidewalks.
    • A section of seawall was forced out about 100 years north of South Pier Rd.
  • Parking ban in effect from Sprague Bridge South to Earles Court east and west until storm damage is cleared.
  • Road closures include:
    • Ocean Rd., including side streets from Earles Court to Beach St.
    • Beach St.
    • Foddering Farm Rd. at Causeway
    • Bonnet Short Causeway
    • Sections of Col. John Gardner Rd.
    • Middlebridge Rd. from Old Boston Neck Rd. to the bridge (no access over bridge)
    • Boston Neck Rd, from Beach St. north to the Dune's Club.
• New Bedford
  • Trash pickup will be delayed two days.
• Newport
  • Storm Surge Map
• North Kingstown
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Planning Commission meeting on Monday postponed to Nov. 8.
• Pawtucket
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Most power restored. Residents asked to report isolated outages to National Grid at 800-322-3223.
  • Trash pickup will be delayed one day all week.
• Portsmouth
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Updates on the Portsmouth EMA blog.
• Providence
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Call 421-CITY (2489) for non-emergency calls, including downed trees, power outages and flash floods
  • Yard waste pickup canceled through end of the week.
    • Residents Who Have Trash Collected on Monday: Put trash out for Wednesday pick up. Will be collected by Thursday.
    • Residents Who Have Trash Collected on Tuesday: Put trash out for Thursday pick up. Will be collected by Friday.
    • Residents Who Have Trash Collected on Wednesday: Put trash out for Thursday pick up. Will be collected by Friday.
    • Residents Who Have Trash Collected on Thursday: Put trash out for Friday pick up. Will be collected by Saturday.
    • Residents Who Have Trash Collected on Friday: Put trash out for Saturday pick up.
• Richmond
  • Storm Surge Map
  • The following amenities have been set up for town residents:
    • A water-filling station has been set up in front of the police station for those without access to water.
    • A station to charge phones, laptops, and medical equipment has been set up in the Community Center for those who lost power.
    • Brush disposal at Transfer Station, 51 Buttonwoods Rd. from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Friday - Sunday.
• Smithfield
  • Trash pickup will be delayed by one day starting Tuesday.
• South Kingstown
  • Storm Surge Map
• Tiverton
  • Storm Surge Map
• Warren
  • Storm Surge Map
• Warwick
  • Warwick police are hosting a clean-up event in Conimicut Village on Saturday. Anyone looking to volunteer should meet at the Warwick Police Conimicut Substation at 9 a.m.
  • Storm Surge Map
  • Parking ban has been lifted.
  • More information on Warwick's hurricane website.
  • Grinder pumps may have limited capacity in the event of a power outage.
• Westerly
  • Misquamicut is closed to the public until further notice, excepting homeowners who live there.
  • The first group of residents returned to the Misquamicut section of Westerly on Thursday morning.
  • At 2 p.m. Friday, all property owners and their contractors in Misquamicut except Atlantic at the intersection of Winnapaug Road to 459 Atlantic will be allowed to enter the area. Everyone must have a re-entry pass to enter.
  • Beginning on Sunday, property owners may truck/haul their sand to the State Beach parking lot for disposal.
  • Westerly Chamber of Commerce will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
    Halloween and trick-or-treating in the town postponed until Saturday.
  • RI National Guard deployed to secure town and evacuated properties.
  • Storm Surge Map
• Westport
  • For more information, call 774-264-5155.
• Woonsocket
  • Trash pickup delayed one day.

Utility Outages

National Grid said power should be restored to most customers Friday. As of Sunday afternoon, fewer than 200 customers are still without power. 

For the latest power outages, check out the WPRI.com Real-Time Power Outage Database. To report an outage to National Grid, call 1-800-465-1212.

In the event of power outages, you will want the following in your Emergency Supply Kit:

• Working flashlights
• Battery-operated radio
• Extra supply of batteries

Forecast

• Detailed Forecast: Pinpoint Futurecast
• Pinpoint Weather: Hurricane Center
• Tony's Pinpoint Weather Blog

Closings - Pinpoint Closing Network

• Complete list of closings, delays, parking bans
• Sign-up for school closing text alerts and emails

Transit

• Driving:  RIDOT road closures, updates ... RIDOT cameras
• Flights:  WPRI.com Flight Tracker - cancelations, delays
• Amtrak - Plans to restore some service on Friday to and from New York City
• MBTA - Service back to normal.
• RIPTA  - Route 14 (West Bay) and Route 66 (URI/Galilee) will be detoured until further notice.
• Megabus  - Multiple cancelations through Thursday. Full service expected to resume Friday

More Resources

• Be Storm Ready
• Vital Numbers and Links
• RI Evacuation Maps
• Hurricane Preparation List
• Emergency Shopping List