Worcester City Manager talks abouts preparations

WORCESTER, Mass. (WHDH) -- Cities and towns across state prepare for Friday’s blizzard for a couple of days. In Worcester, City Manager Michael O'Brien has prepped the city.

“Just like everybody else in the commonwealth we've been watching the forecast closely,” said O’Brien.

Worcester is historically a snowbelt of Massachusetts.

O’Brien said the city had around 400 apparatus of snow removal equipment. Sand and salt trucks had been deployed to do pre-treating throughout the early morning hours.

“We’re battening down the hatches and getting ready for Mother Nature’s fury,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien is responsible for the city of Worcester, a city that some major state highways run through, but the roadways were still open as of mid-morning Friday.

“Use caution, and common sense. I know the governor is talking about statewide a plea to keep people off the roads. At this junction, we've not got any advisories that state that the highways are closed except for emergency vehicles. Obviously, like everyone else we will be watching closely and staying in touch with our partners at the MEMA bunker and otherwise to make sure we're on top of those type of advisories and those type of issuances,” said O’Brien.

His advice for residents was to be prepared for power outages and to stay home.

“Flashlights, batteries, make sure you've got water for drinking,” he said. For those using candles, exercise caution.

“We prefer that people stay home, particularly as the storm picks up after noon [Friday] through [Saturday]. That gives our emergency service vehicles the main street and arteries to get to and from hospitals and otherwise. And it also gives our DPW crews the ability to get ahead of the storm,” said O’Brien.

The consensus across the state was to prepare for an outage, and just stay home to stay safe.