Wednesday, April 4, 2001
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Wednesday, April 4, 2001 |
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Severe weather alert system up and running to warn Fayette residents in vulnerable areas
By JOHN
MUNFORD
When severe weather threatens Fayette County, residents in vulnerable areas will know when to take shelter, thanks to an early warning weather system and a voice that can be heard up to one and a half miles away. The system is activated only when a severe weather warning is issued. Once the system is activated, residents should move toward the center of their homes and go to the lowest part of the structures, said Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency. "The system will only be activated when severe weather is expected." Nelms said. "That's our whole goal early warning for as many people as possible in areas where the risks are higher." The Fayette County Emergency 911 center uses information from the National Weather Service in Peachtree City to determine when to sound the alarm, Nelms added. A federal grant paid 75 percent of the cost with the county picking up 25 percent, but there wasn't enough money to get enough alarms to cover the entire county, Nelms said. Instead, the towers are placed in areas near a large number of residents who face increased risks of injury due to severe weather. "This is something we hope to expand in the future," Nelms said. "We wanted to put them in areas where a lot of people were very vulnerable to severe weather." The alarms cover several manufactured home communities in the county, including Landmark Manufactured Housing Community, Fayette Mobile Home Park, Long's Mobile Home Park, Four Seasons Mobile Home Park and Shiloh Mobile Home Park. The system was first put into operation in February, just before Severe Weather Awareness Week. Although Fayette County hasn't seen many tornados in the immediate past, the area is at a heightened risk for severe thunderstorms with lightning that strikes homes and businesses with the potential to start structure fires, Nelms said. Also, microbursts are a danger, such as the one that damaged downtown Fayetteville several years ago and ripped the roof off a Fayetteville pharmacy, he added. The weather warning system can also be used as a public address system to send out special messages if needed, Nelms added. It's also compatible with the county's current radio system, he added. Assistance from the National Weather Service has been crucial in getting the system up and running, Nelms said. Another grant also was secured recently that provided NOAA emergency warning weather radios to large public buildings such as public and private schools in the county, Nelms said. Those radios are a good investment for anyone to keep at home because they sound an alarm when severe weather threatens the area, he said. "You can program them to only sound off for the Fayette County area, too, instead of getting all the warnings," Nelms said. "We encourage everyone to purchase a weather radio." Also as part of severe weather awareness week, the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services worked with local schools as they ran their tornado and severe weather drills.
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