Winston County EMA Preps For Isaac - Info for Residents

Emergency personnel met with law enforcement, school officials, hospital officials, political leaders and volunteers this morning in preparation for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm or Hurricane Isaac. EMA Director Buddy King indicated that the focus over the next 24 hours will be on preparation and planning in the event that Isaac causes significant problems in our area. Current data has shown the the storm has moved further west and that our area may miss the brunt of the storm but we can still expect significant rainfall and some gusty winds.

School closures were a topic of conversation and the storm will be tracked into the afternoon today before any decisions will be made. Any public school closures for Wednesday will likely be announced by 6:00 pm today.

Contingency plans for shelters have been established and residents are urged to limit their travel once the storm hits our area. The following is a press release provided by EMA and the Winston County Board of Supervisors.

The Winston County Emergency Management Agency recognizes the potential impact that Tropical Storm Isaac can have on the local area and is activating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Winston County effective at 10:00 am on Tuesday August 29, 2012.
The EOC will be staffed around the clock until conclusion of all emergency and recovery operations. The EOC is located in the Winston County Courthouse and the phone number is 662-773-3651.
Winston County is activating an incident Action Plan that provides for assignment of responsibilities for response during this period of threatening weather. The focus for the next 24 hours for emergency responders will be preparation. This will include fueling and maintenance of vehicles and equipment as well as distribution of assets to allow for faster response.
We will also take this opportunity to advise the residents of Winston County to begin their preparations. This should include making sure that each household has a three day supp;y of water (one gallon per person per day) and non-perishable food, also to make sure that they have a five day supply of any prescription medicine. The goal is to ensure that everyone will be able to maintain well being for three days and not to have any needs that will require travel. The biggest concern that we can anticipate at this time is keeping our lines of travel open for emergency response and to allow access for power crews that may need access to roads to repair damaged power lines. 
The EOC is constantly monitoring weather reports from the National Weather Service as well as other providers and will respond appropriately. The next planning meeting will be at EOC on Wednesday, August 30, 2012 at 10:00 am.

W. McCully