City of Providence Responds to Blizzard of 2013

Crews working to clear secondary roads and restore power in Providence.

Providence residents are asked to stay home and avoid driving while crews continue to work around the clock through the weekend to restore life to the Capital City.

"The safest place for residents to be is home while first responders, heavy equipment operators and National Grid employees work to make City roads passable and restore electricity," said Mayor Taveras. "Please be patient as workers use front loaders and other heavy equipment to begin clearing side streets and secondary roads now that we have addressed hospitals, emergency routes major roads."

City officials are assisting National Grid's effort to restore power to the approximately 9,000 households in Providence currently without electricity. Residents without power should report the outage to National Grid by calling 1-800-465-1212.

Residents who must drive are urged to take extreme caution and watch for pedestrians who may be walking in the roadway. Motorists should treat all intersections that are out of power or obscured by snow as four-way stops.

A parking ban is in effect and will remain in place until further notice. Providence Police have towed about 200 vehicles in violation of the parking ban.

Property owners are required to remove snow and ice from sidewalks within eight hours after the snow stops falling. By City Ordinance, businesses and residents must not place snow removed by plowing or shoveling into public roadways and sidewalks. Fines ranging from $25 to $500 may be imposed on residents not in compliance.

Residents are asked to assist first responders by digging out fire hydrants adjacent to their property. Residents are urged not to rebury fire hydrants after they have been dug out.

Due to the magnitude of this snowfall, residents are asked to closely monitor snow accumulation on business and residential buildings. Heavy snow can add stress to structures. Flat, commercial roofs are most vulnerable to stress, but slanted structures may also be susceptible. Residents should take reasonable precautions to monitor their homes and businesses and safely remove snow from roofs as necessary.