At 10 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, Lowndes County tests is emergency sirens.
Aside from setting all the dogs in the county to howling, it is probably the only evidence the general public notices of the Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency’s work.
The truth is, planning and preparations for emergencies goes on regularly throughout the year, said LCEMA director Cindy Lawrence.
“When you put together all the things we do on a regular basis, it’s pretty much a constant effort,” Lawrence said.
Events like Hurricane Harvey, which flooded the Texas gulf coast over the weekend — destroying property and taking lives — bring home to Lawrence the importance of continuing to practice preparedness.
In her role, Lawrence coordinates with all of the entities that are involved in responding to emergencies, works with state and federal emergency management departments and schedules, conducts and evaluates training exercises.
Like the weather itself, emergency management planning is always changing.
Lawrence’s work begins with the county’s comprehensive emergency management plan.
“We rewrite that plan every five years and update it every year,” Lawrence said. “It contains plans for the hazards we see in Lowndes County and how we would coordinate the response. In Lowndes County, the main threats are tornadoes, straight-line winds and flash flooding. We won’t have a hurricane like we’re seeing in Texas, but we can get (some of) the effects of the hurricane.”
The National Weather Service notifies Lawrence and other emergency management coordinators when conditions for hazardous weather are heightened.
“The first thing I do is call an emergency meeting, which consists of responders — law enforcement, fire departments, the hospital, utility companies, the Red Cross and Salvation Army — all the groups that are a part of responding to a disaster.”
Law enforcement
Marc Miley, chief deputy for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, is a member of that group, called the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
“I think it’s really helpful,” Miley said. “As law enforcement, we know what role we play, of course. But it’s also important to know what the other agencies are going to be doing, what they anticipate. It just helps us understand the big picture better and helps us address any gaps or areas where we may need to be aware of a special need. It just gets everybody on the same page.”
The committee meets every other month and holds exercises three times a month.
“These are really important,” Lawrence said. “If there is something that does not work we can make changes that correct he problem.”
The committee also does “hot watch” or review of its performance after each emergency.
“After a big event, like a tornado, we’ll talk about what we did well, what we did wrong, what we could do better,” Lawrence said. “We’re not pointing fingers at any organization. We’re just saying that we know we could do better in this or that area or here is a change we can make to solve a problem.”
Outside of the committee work, Lawrence has monthly conferences with the National Weather Service, works with the Red Cross, which is in charge of all shelters, and consults with state and federal emergency management agencies.
When a weather emergency occurs, local agencies use the county’s new $2 million E-911 Center as a command center. In addition to a conference room when agency personnel work together, each agency also has private space in the center.
Technology
Todd Gale, executive director of Columbus Light & Water, said the coordination among agencies and the emergence of new technology have helped improve his department’s ability to meet the challenges emergencies present.
“We get an idea of what to expect, and that’s helpful,” Gale said. “But every emergency is different. You can’t anticipate everything. But because of technology we are able to learn which areas have outages faster than before and, of course, we prioritize our responses. For example, the hospital is our top priority. After that, we try to address the areas where the most customers are affected.”
But technology only goes so far, Gale said.
“The one thing that hasn’t changed is that we still have to go out and do the work,” he said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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