Friday, December 6, 2002
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Friday, December 6, 2002 |
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County is StormReady By JOHN
THOMPSON
If bad weather threatens Coweta County, the county is one of the most prepared in the state to deal with the problem. Dignitaries from the National Weather Service, along with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency appeared at Tuesday's Coweta County Commission to present the county with its StormReady certification. The county has the distinction of becoming part of the growing list of recognized StormReady communities. StormReady, a new program initiated by the National Weather Service in partnership with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Emergency Management Association of Georgia, is designed to encourage communities to create a severe weather action plan. "While the weather is beyond our control, the StormReady program serves as another tool to help us better prepare in dealing with whatever Mother Nature sends our way," said GEMA Director Gary McConnell. "Coweta County Emergency Management Agency and local leaders should be commended for taking proactive measures to protect their citizens." Although specific StormReady guidelines vary depending on the size of the community, to be designated in the program requires the following: Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center. Develop more than one way to receive and disseminate severe weather warnings and forecasts to alert the public. Create a system that monitors local weather conditions. Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars. Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises. "Citizens in a StormReady community can take comfort in the fact that their local leaders have achieved a standard level of protection from hazardous weather," said Lans Rothfusz, Meteorologist-in-Charge, NWS, and chairman of the StormReady Advisory Board. "This program also fulfills the mission of the partner agencies which is to protect life and property from dangerous weather conditions." For more information on severe weather and the StormReady program visit the NWS Web site at www.nws.noaa.gov/stormready or the GEMA Web site at www.gema.state.ga.us.
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