Hurricane Sandy to affect Windsor-Essex

The effects of Hurricane Sandy could be felt in Windsor-Essex as early as Monday evening.

Environment Canada meteorologist Etienne Gregoire said the regions biggest concern about the massive storm should be the wind.

Environment Canada has already issued a high wind warning for the region.

"The chances of the gusts in the 60-90 km/hr range are greatest in the evening and overnight," said meteorologist Etienne Gregoire. "Typically, when you get in that range, you see branches broken off. With trees having a fair amount of leaves and the ground relatively wet ... its not impossible to see trees broken off and uprooted."

He also said items that are loose and not tied down "could become projectiles."

The temperature and rain should both hover around normal levels for this time of year.

"Were still going to get a soaking but not enough to bring us to a warning level," he said. "The best thing to do, the best caution, is to keep an eye on the weather warnings."

In London, Dave O'Brien, the head of emergency management, saidthe most likely scenario is flooding on streets.Trees could be knocked down, resulting in power blackouts.

"In the event that we start to see that kind of impact in our community, we have an emergency evacuation plan that we would implement that would include opening up either a reception centre or a full-blown evacuation centre where people could come and be housed temporarily during the severest parts of the storm," O'Brien said.

O'Brien said this is a good time for families to review their emergency survival kits.

He said every home should have a 72-hour kit that includes water, canned food, blankets and extra batteries for radios and flashlights.