EAST LANSING, Mich. — City of East Lansing officials and crews are continuing to closely monitor and respond to today’s winter storm as it moves through the mid-Michigan region.
East Lansing Department of Public Works (DPW) crews worked this morning to clear catch basins in an effort to minimize flooding in the community and they will be working throughout the day to clear snow and ice from roadways. While DPW crews will be out working to minimize the impacts of the storm, community members should expect for road conditions to deteriorate throughout the day and plan to limit their travel this afternoon and evening. Conditions will be ideal for ice to form on roadways. An emergency weather declaration may be made later in the day, which could include the suspension of on-street parking and/or the suspension of all travel on roadways.
Community members should also be prepared for surface flooding due to heavy rainfall and saturated soil. With the potential for flooding and power outages in mind, community members should check to make sure their back-up sump pumps are working properly and remove valuable items from basements.
“We are continuing to monitor this storm and respond to the conditions in the interest of our community’s safety,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “At this time, we encourage community members to limit their travel and be extra cautious on the roadways if they do need to travel.”
City Facility Closure Updates
The decision has been made to close the East Lansing Hannah Community Center for the remainder of today (Saturday, Jan. 11). Community members are also reminded that the East Lansing Public Library is closed today due to the inclement weather.
Nixle Updates
Community members are strongly encouraged to sign up for Nixle emergency alert updates from the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) at https://local.nixle.com/register/ or by texting their zip code to 888777. In the event of a power outage, Nixle provides a means for residents to receive real-time text and email updates from ELPD on their phones.
Power Outages
With ice and heavy winds in the forecast, there is the potential for power outages. Power outages and downed power lines should be reported to the Lansing Board of Water & Light at 877-295-5001 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Both utility companies also have outage centers:
https://www.lbwl.com/outage-center
https://www.consumersenergy.com/outages/outage-center
Resident are encouraged to call 911 if a downed power line is causing a public safety hazard (i.e. down in a street/sidewalk).
Downed Trees and Basement Flooding
Residents can call the ELPD’s 24/7 non-emergency phone number to report downed trees in the roadway and basement flooding: (517) 351-4220.