Winston County Bolsters Storm Security

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Tornados are familiar sights in this area, and Winston County has definitely seen its share.

County leaders worked with the Federal Government to help people stay safe.

That stroke of luck was getting four high quality storm shelters for free.

FEMA donated four shelters to Winston County after the area was hit by an EF-4 tornado in 2014.

“We had the storm shelters placed in Louisville when we established a temporary hospital,” said County EMA Director, Buddy King.

They sheltered patients and employees if another storm hit the area.

Now that Winston County Medical has been rebuilt, FEMA has no use for them.

“The storm shelters become excess to the Federal Government,” continued King. “So the Board of Supervisors of Winston County petitioned to have those storm shelters that were left gifted to the county, and they were.”

The shelters were placed throughout the county, one of them in Dean Park, which is in an area that has been petitioning for shelter.

“We though it was fair and just if they county would do something to provide some shelter for the people in the community, and we are pleased the county did provide a 34 person storm shelter,” said Vice President of Friends of Dean Park Incorporated, Elmetra Patterson.

While the sign on the outside says this can only hold 34 people, EMA tells us it can easily hold double that.

The 77,000 pound structures are able to withstand winds up to 250 miles per hour, something that gives citizens a sense of security.

“Well, I feel safe. I feel secure. If I’m travelling on highway 15 and there’s a tornado in the vicinity, I can just whip in the park and be out of harms way,” said President of Winston County Parks Commission, Paul Coburn.

“Security has been a concern since the tornado here three and a half years ago,” said King. “We’ve had lots of people purchase their own home storm shelters, and we have people that are not able to do that. The county is able to provide storm shelters for those folks, especially in the more populated areas.”

This lets citizens know they are being taken care of.

“They have that security knowing they are being protected as best as they can be protected,” said King.

In total, Winston County’s shelters can now hold around 3,100 people, which is around fifteen percent of the county’s population.