Community Corner

10 Ways McLean Patch Can Help in Hurricane Irene

Be safe. Stay inside.

• Follow Patch's Northern Virginia Hurricane Irene page for Facebook updates on the storm, especially if you lose power but have Facebook on your mobile phone.

McLean Patch is here to help the neighbors. We will be working around-the-clock to cover the storm, but the more information we receive from our neighbors, the more comprehensive and useful our coverage will be.

1. Get the news. When we know about storm-related news, so will you. From important local and regional announcements, damages, power outages and floods, we’ll have all the news covered 24-7. Check the homepage often, we move fast. Let us know what's going on in your neighborhood. Send pictures.

2. Comment. If you have relevant information to add to an article, jump in and make a comment. We’ll follow up and likely add it to the article. These storm stories will continue to evolve as we speak to more officials and locals. You can be a real-time source by commenting.

3. E-mail me. My name, email address and phone number are listed in my . 

4. Follow it live. Herndon and other Northern Virginia Patches will be live blogging rains, flooding, and other updates throughout the day on Saturday. Look for the article on Saturday morning to see real-time updates, and ask questions.

5. Follow us on Twitter. Before we write an article we tweet the news out to our followers. Want the info the fastest way possible, follow @McLeanPatch.

Find out what's happening in McLeanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

6. Follow us on Facebook. Not only do we post real-time information on McLean  Patch's facebook page, but we've set up a Northern Virginia Hurricane Irene page too, where Patch editors from across Northern Virginia will keep you up informed.

7. Get the iPhone app. If the power goes out, your smartphone may end up being your only tool for getting the info on what’s going on in your community. Click here to get the Patch app for free on iTunes. Not only can you read news on it, but post photos and videos as well.

8. Take photos, shoot video. Please, stay indoors. But any photos you take of the aftermath we’d like to prominently display on McLean Patch. Email them to me or upload them directly to articles. Same goes for video.

9. Ask a question. If trees are down in your neighborhood but you want to know if your neighbors a few blocks away have the same damage, or if you want to ask someone in a flood-prone area how they waterproofed their house, use our Q&A feature. Questions normally surround natural events like a hurricane. You can look to your community for answers. If no one responds, be sure we’ll try to get the answer for you.

Find out what's happening in McLeanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

10. Ask for Volunteers. Our Announcements section lets readers post requests for volunteers. Use it. Depending on the scope of the disaster, volunteers are going to be crucial to mend the community. Any Volunteers Needed announcements posted on the site we will feature prominently on the home page.

Stay inside. Stay safe.


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