Video: Area EMA Directors Talk About Lessons Learned From Major Storms

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NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Few areas of the country are more weather aware than Northeast Mississippi and West Alabama. It’s one of many lessons from a series of severe storms in recent years that have left death and destruction across almost every corner of the region.

Two of the area’s most experienced emergency management directors say emergency responders and the communities they serve learn something new from each storm.

Lowndes County EMA Director Cindy Lawrence can count them off without blinking…damaging storms almost every year for more than a decade. On April 28t last year, five tornadoes touched down.

Linda Griffin in Chickasaw County is no different. Her county got hit in the morning and afternoon on April 27 four years ago. It translates into more involved communities.

“That’s the big difference I’ve seen since 2011, people are stepping up and wanting to know what they can do to help,” Griffin said.

Technology has helped. Sirens, weather radios and a variety of new apps for cell phones and computers provide more advanced warning . And residents are more weather savvy than ever before. Some say it borders on paranoia. But the experts say they’d rather have it that way.

“Some of them are overly cautions, but I’d much rather see that happen because we all want to be overly protective and overly cautious…that saves lives a lot more,” Griffin said. “Our citizens are taking heed and learning and wanting to be an active part.”

“The one thing we try to tell them is to be prepared if you are prepared in advance of the storm then you won’t panic when something actually happens,” added Lawrence.

Even businesses are getting involved.

“Making them aware of the weather that’s going on and also making decisions to close the doors and asking those people not to come to work and keeping them off the roads,” Griffin noted.

And with state and federal governments making more money available, cities and counties have been able to install dozens of storm shelters. Allowing rescue workers to stage in advance of storms gets life-saving help to scenes faster.

“Communicating with each other and knowing where everybody is and having them in a safe place because if our first responders are not safe when that tornado touches down, if our help isn’t available or if they get hurt, we’re no good to our citizens,” explained Griffin.

In Chickasaw County alone, Griffin and supervisors have worked together to get 27 storm shelters installed and have 9 more pending.