Winter Storm Tips – Protect Yourself, Your Home, and Others...
SNOW
- Do not shovel or plow snow into the street. This practice is illegal, unsafe and hinders snow operations. The penalty for violating this can range from $50 to $300 for each violation.
- Clear a sidewalk path at least three (3) feet within six hours of the end of the storm.
- Clear snow from neighborhood sewer drains to allow melting snow to drain.
- Keep fire hydrants clear. Shovel at least 3-feet around your block’s hydrant so firefighters can gain access safely during an emergency response.
- Motorists should allow extra time, exercise patience and maintain safe driving distances.
PIPES
With extremely cold temperatures already here, learn how to protect your pipes.
Check out the Philadelphia Water Department’s Cold Weather Tips quick-facts here, and click this video link to learn more.
EMERGENCY SHELTER
When weather reaches extremely cold temperatures, Philadelphia enacts a Code Blue. During a Code Blue, the City takes special measures to keep people who are homeless safe. These measures include:
- 24-hour outreach to find people who are homeless and transport them to safe indoor spaces.
- Opening all available beds within the emergency housing network to people who are homeless.
- Allowing homeless people to stay inside emergency housing throughout the day.
If you see a person who appears to be homeless during a Code Blue, call the City’s Homeless outreach hotline at (215) 232-1984.
—