Ice Storms: Mitigation
Ice storms produce wide ranging impacts, but targeted mitigation efforts can reduce the magnitude of these impacts. Injuries and fatalities during an ice storm are often the result of poor decision-making. Efforts to educate the public about the dangers created directly by icy conditions or those created by power outages can reduce risks. People should be aware of the dangers of being outside or traveling, the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning in motor vehicles and from portable heaters and power generators in homes, the danger of house fires, and the danger of hypothermia from prolonged exposure to cold weather. The National Weather Service, in conjunction with FEMA and the American Red Cross, has published Winter Storms: The Deceptive Killers as a guide to help people prepare for the impacts of ice storms and other winter storms. Ice storms can cause significant damage to trees. Meanwhile, falling trees or limbs can cause power outages and be a threat to life and property. Mitigation efforts can minimize damage associated with trees in two ways. First, owners of forested lands should implement timber stand improvement programs that include the removal of poorer quality trees and the selective cutting of timber to maximize the long-term health and productivity of the stand. Second, residential property owners and municipalities should adopt landscaping practices that encourage the planting of species that are less susceptible to damage from ice storms, and they should plant trees sufficiently far from utility lines and buildings to reduce to probability of damage. The report, Trees and Ice Storms: The Development of Ice Storm-Resistant Urban Tree Populations, by the Department of Forestry at the University of Illinois, provides recommendations that are more detailed. Many of the impacts associated with ice storms result from power outages. When damage is extensive repair crews must be brought in, sometimes from hundreds of miles away, to assist in restoring service. The occurrence of power outages and associated repair costs can be reduced if local utility companies bury their transmission lines under ground.
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