Hurricane season is here. Are you prepared for an emergency?

Hurricane season is here. Are you prepared for an emergency? The great hurricane of 1938 hit the south coast of New England without warning, claiming roughly 200 lives here in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and causing millions of dollars in damages. (Great info and video links are available at the Sea Fever blog 70^th anniversary site: http://sea-fever.org/2008/09/21/70th-anniversary-of-the-1938-hurricane .

Sixteen years later Hurricane Carol ripped through southern New England and her 14 foot storm surge in Narragansett Bay left downtown Providence under 12 feet of water. The coastal areas of Fall River, Westport, Somerset, Swansea, Dartmouth, and Tiverton and Portsmouth Rhode Island were devastated. (See more at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB3IPzn6_Ew

On August 19, 1991 Hurricane Bob focused on southern New England and was the most recent hurricane to strike New England.

The Greater Fall River area is vulnerable to hurricanes and as such we should all take the threat seriously. Today’s weather forecasting is far superior to that of the last century, but residents must heed the warnings and take precautions to prevent needless injury and property damage.

These precautions include having a disaster supply kit ready in the event of an emergency. Suggested items include canned foods (meats and fish, fruits and vegetables, soups, etc.), cookies, crackers, peanut butter, coffee, tea and bottled water. Also practical items like a manual can opener, battery powered radio, extra batteries, flashlights and extra batteries, first aid supplies, propane gas grills, toiletries and medications, a full tank of gas for you car. Another item easy to overlook is cash. In the event of extended power outages, ATM’s and banks may not be available.

For complete lists visit the NationalHurricaneCenter website at www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/supply_kit.shtml or see the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) site list at www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/mema/disaster_supply_list.pdf.

This time of year many of us enjoy the summer weather outside and have deck, patio, pool side, and yard furniture out.. Put away any loose furniture, toys, bikes, trash cans, and anything which could become a flying projectile in a storm. Flip patio tables over so the table top is on the ground. Bring in potted and hanging plants. High winds can cause anything loose fly around possibly breaking windows, damaging cars or other property.

Most importantly, listen to weather advisories and take precautions before the bad weather hits.

For more about  the Greater Fall River area, visit my website atwww.stevew-homes.comor contact me directly at 508-558-8035.

The Greater Fall River summer produce crop is in!

The Greater Fall River summer produce crop is in!  Summer is here and it is time for local fresh grown fruits and vegetables from local farm stands and farmers markets. As they say buy local and buy fresh. Supporting these farmers has all kinds of benefits for you, and the community overall.

First, buying local benefits you by providing you with the freshest, healthiest, most delicious fruits and vegetables you can get. These tomatoes or heads of lettuce weren't picked, packaged and shipped for a few days before reaching your grocery store. Often times these have been in the garden only hours before lining the sunny shelves of a roadside stand. Nothing is more delicious than the taste of local sweet corn steamed, boiled or grilled just hours after plucked from the field. Buying local is more economical for you also. These products have not been shipped across the country or from overseas saving transportation costs and reducing the carbon footprint required to bring them to market.
 
Secondly supporting local farms and farmers keeps your dollars here in the greater Fall River community. This support helps maintain family farms in the area providing  employment opportunities for many and sustaining a valuable industry which not only provides healthy food alternatives to the community, but continues the New England tradition of small farms and open spaces. In only minutes you can drive in any direction from the hectic pace of city life in downtown Fall River and find yourself on a country road in Swansea, Tiverton, Little Compton, Westport, Dartmouth, Dighton or Berkley and the reinvigorate your senses to the sights, sounds and smells of a local farm.

The City of Fall River provides three Farmers Markets easily available to pedestrians and those using public transportation. Located at  Kennedy Park, Ruggles Park and downtown near the Government center they are available not miles away, but minutes away.

Here is a list of some Farmers Markets in the area now thru the fall 2011:

• Kennedy Park Farmers Market - at Broadway and Bradford Ave. Saturdays 7 AM -1:30 PM
• Ruggles Park Farmers Market - Locust and Seabury Street Wednesday 9 AM -3PM
• Downtown Fall Rive at Lou Sevin Promenade "a wide brick walkway that runs parallel to South Main Street, just to the east of the Bella Restaurant behind the Academy Building at the corner of South Main Street and South Frontage Road next to Government Center" Thursdays 9AM -2PM.
• Westport Farmers Market 870 Main Rd. Westport Saturdays 8:30 AM -1 PM
• Sakonnet Growers Market Rt.77 at East Road, Tiverton 4 Corners. Saturdays 9AM - 1PM

 
And here is a list of Farm Stands:

• Adirondack Farm 1046 Blossom Road, Fall River, MA
• Wild Dogwood Farm 148 Sanford Road Westport, MA
• Sampson Farm 222 Old Bedford Road Westport, MA
• Orr's Farm 187 Adamsville Road Westport, MA
• Almeida;s Vegatable Patch 110 GAR Highway Rt 6 Swansea, MA
• Simcock Farm 361 Marvel Street, Swansea, MA ( Great Ice Cream also!)
• Kettle Pond Farm 181 Bayview Ave. Berkley, MA
• Tavares Hillside Farm 164 Slades Corner Road, Dartmouth, MA
• Pocasset Orchards 1427 Old Fall River Road, Dartmouth, MA

These are just a sampling of farms in the area. Find more in your neighborhood and this season support our farmers by buying local!
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Steve Waddicor is a Realtor© with SB&A Realty Group serving the Greater Fall River area. Visit me at http://www.stevew-homes.com/ .