CRANSTON, R.I. -- Governor Chafee has participated in conference calls with municipal leaders, state agency leaders, National Grid, the state's Emergency Management Agency and others in tracking this storm, applying lessons learned during Tropical Storm Irene, Hunsinger said.
"There just wasn't as smooth a communication between the state, municipalities and National Grid," Hunsinger said about the last big storm to affect Rhode Island.
So this time, people have worked ahead of time to be sure they have appropriate emergency numbers, passwords that might be needed to access various storm information, etc., she said.
Governor Chafee's declaration of a state of emergency for Rhode Island does not alter how local school districts and individual municipalities will make decisions about how to prepare for Hurricane Sandy, Chafee's spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger said Sunday.
"Currently, all evacuations and school closings and local shelter openings are left to the municipalities," Hunsinger said in an interview shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday. "That will continue unless there's a significant change."
That's because municipalities and local organizations know best what their areas need, what potential flooding could affect them and where their shelters are located, she said.