STORM READY COMMUNITIES

“StormReady” is a program initiated by the National Weather Service (NWS) in partnership with the Office of Homeland Security-Georgia Emergency Management Agency (OHS-GEMA) and the Emergency Management Association of Georgia (EMAG). It is designed to encourage communities to create a severe weather action plan.

The following guidelines are the basic requirements for designation, although specific StormReady guidelines vary depending on the size of the community:

• Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center;

• Develop more than one way to receive and disseminate severe weather warnings and forecasts to alert the public;

• Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;

• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars; and

• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

Morgan County has been an officially recognized StormReady Community since 2007. This designation serves to assure its residents that the County has taken proactive steps towards protecting its population from hazardous weather conditions.

StormReady communities that are also in the National Flood Insurance Program may receive additional Insurance Services Organization (ISO) points, which could potentially lower flood insurance premiums in the community.

For more information on severe weather and the StormReady program visit the NWS website at www.NWS/noaa.gov/stormready or the OHS-GEMA Web site at http://www.gema.state.ga.us/.