Clay County First Responders Prepare For The Worst

CLAY COUNTY, Miss.(WCBI) – It doesn’t happen often.

The last official earthquake in Mississippi was near Meridian 6 years ago.

This is the Great Central U.S. Shakeout Day. First responders in our area took advantage of this day to work on their skills.

If an emergency happens these are the guys you need.

They are getting ready for the worst.

“It’s preparedness. This is what it’s all about getting together, test your capabilities, and things of that nature before the real thing happens,”said West Point Police Captain Virginia Rich.

Running exercises like this helped rescue 23 year old Victoria Hudson in July.

Thursday’s drill focused on working together – and communication.

Clay County EMA Director Torrey Williams says pre-planning helps.

“Late nights. It takes trying to get around all the participating agencies schedule a lot of meetings. You have to meet, before the meeting, before the meeting. So, a lot of planning goes into it,”said Williams.

Rich says training helps them see where they need improvement.

“When we do this, we go back and look at it. We will critique this, any issues or challenges that we have. It gives us an opportunity to work on these things prior to something actually happening. It’s an opportunity for everyone to learn, the entire community can take something away from this training,”said Rich.

The Mississippi Emergency Agency, West Point Fire Fighters, Police officers, and Clay County Ambulance services all attended today’s exercise.