Emergency alerts provide important information for staying safe

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Emergencies, like natural disasters, for example, are inevitable.

Knowing what to do when a natural disaster occurs could be the difference between the loss of property and the loss of life.

October 2 through October 6 is Fall Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Mississippi.

Tornado sirens sounded all over the state to make sure emergency equipment was up to par for when people needed it.

Cindy Lawrence, Lowndes County Emergency Management Director, warned people to pay attention when severe weather is expected.

“Here we don’t have any other way of notifying you except through our tornado sirens. With the weather alerts that come on your phone through FEMA, or through the National Weather Service, You get the information quickly and you can act quickly on what you need to do,” said Lawrence.

When sirens sound for a tornado warning, time may have already run out to travel to a shelter.

“People say ‘You know when I hear the sirens, I can go to the nearest shelter’. Well, that’s not always true. When you hear the sirens, it’s actually been spotted somewhere here in our county. So you don’t have time to actually get in your car and try to drive a safe room or shelter,” said Lawrence.

Michael Hill is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Jackson.

He’s working to raise awareness on the next severe weather season.

“We do have a secondary severe weather season in November. So, around October, we want to get people’s mindset back in the game as far as being prepared for severe weather,” said Hill. “You want to have a whistle. You want to have your shoes. And you want to have your cell phone packed up in your safe place. Also, you want to have a helmet for flying debris. And you also want to have some food some provisions, and any kind of medical supplies.”

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