Resources: Severe weather preparation guide
JACKSON, Tenn – West Tennessee is bracing for severe weather this weekend. Local governments are opening storm shelters for residents needing a safe place to ride out the storm. In addition, the electric departments are also preparing to ensure they respond as quickly as possible to any power outages. We have put together this resource for you to have all the information you need to stay safe.
STORM SHELTERS
BENTON COUNTY
Holladay Area
Holladay School Cafeteria
148 Stokes Road
Holladay, TN
Camden Area
Camden Police Department Basement
119 West Main Street
Camden, TN
Big Sandy Area
McRae’s Chapel Outdoorsman Baptist Church
Basement
1555 Sulphur Creek Road
Big Sandy, TN
CARROLL COUNTY
Carroll County Sheriff’s Department
200 Norandal Drive
Huntingdon, TN
CHESTER COUNTY
Henderson Storm Shelter
121 Crook Avenue
CROCKETT COUNTY
Crockett County Storm Shelter
232 E. Park Street
Alamo
GIBSON COUNTY
Rutherford School
108 West Knox Street
Rutherford, TN
Yorkville School
56 Nebo-Yorkville Road
Yorkville, TN
Kenton School
101 Tommy Wade Drive
Kenton
Dyer School
322 East College Street
Dyer, TN
HARDIN COUNTY
Saltillo Storm Shelter
47680 Highway 69
HENDERSON COUNTY
The Watson Center
50 Natchez Trace Drive
Lexington
** Park in the rear and not in the front. Come through the breezeway entrance and you must sign in.
HENRY COUNTY
Dorothy and Noble Harrelson School
143 Puryear Country Club Road
Puryear, TN
Henry Schools
937 Pioneer Road
Henry, TN
Lakewood Schools
6745 Hwy 79 North
Buchanan, TN
WO Inman Middle School
400 Harrison Place
Paris, TN
MADISON COUNTY
Jackson Regional Airport
308 Grady Montgomery Drive
Jackson
* The Madison County saferooms at the airport will be open Friday and Saturday (3/14 – 3/15) night.
WEAKLEY COUNTY
Martin Community Safe Room (Gateway)
701 N Lindell Street
Martin
ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT PREPARATION
We also spoke to some of the electric departments in the area regarding how they are preparing for the storm threat and power outages. Many departments are monitoring the weather threat, ensured their employees are on stand by to respond to power outages, and ensured equipment is working and vehicles are full of gas.
“The work that is done immediately is to prepare, make sure the crews are all lined up and prepared to come in if called, that the trucks are fueled and that the crews have all the equipment that they need,” said Steve Bowers, Jackson Energy Authority Communications Manager. “They have a background in this as to what happens under certain circumstances.”
The Carroll County Electric Department said they will continue to keep their power outage map available and updated as much as possible for their customers. They also have their general phone number to call for customers to report power outages.
Gibson Electric Membership Corporation said they are preparing in several ways for the weather and also encourage their customers to be prepared.
” Here are some things Gibson Electric does to prepare for storm-related outages:
– First, we pay close attention to the weather to ensure we are prepared when severe
weather is in the forecast.
– When it is forecast, we make sure our personnel and our equipment are ready. For
example, we make sure the chain saws are sharpened, the trucks are fueled and well
stocked, etc. Our employees know their roles and quickly put our plans into action.
Additionally, we have materials stored in each of our five member service center
locations and we maintain relationships with vendors so that we can gain access to
whatever we need quickly to restore power.
– We have personnel monitoring our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System
and taking members’ calls 24-7, so as soon as our equipment alerts us of a problem or a
member alerts us of an outage, we immediately dispatch personnel. We encourage our
members to download our Gibson Co-ops app. This is the easiest and best way to report
an outage. Using this method automatically populates our outage map and helps us
work most efficiently.
– We have more than 3,500 miles of electric line covering 12 counties, but our electric
system runs north to south, so Gibson EMC can often send our crews from one end of
our service area to the other to help restore service quickly.
– When damage is widespread and repairs are time-intensive damage, we can ask for help
from our neighboring utilities. They are always willing to help us and we are always
willing to help them.
– Of course, we do our best to keep our members and the public informed during outages. We post outage information and provide updates during large and/or lengthy outages on our Gibson EMC Facebook page. We encourage members to also check our Outage Map for information.
– Finally, we do our best to prevent outages. We’ve had an aggressive tree-trimming program in place for many years to help ensure we can provide our almost 40,000 members with reliable and safe service. We trim our entire service area on a five-year cycle.
We encourage our members to also be prepared for an outage with:
– Charged cell phones and tablets
– Flashlights and batteries
– Long-burning candles and a lighter or matches; and a first-aid kit
– Our Gibson Co-ops app. You can easily report your outage and check our outage map to
ensure we are aware of your outage.”
We also spoke to Chickasaw Electric Cooperative that said they are monitoring the weather threats and have resources available to address power outage needs. They also have the ability to all in some contract providers to help respond to outages if it is needed.
The Benton County Electric System released their storm preparedness and power restoration plan.
Benton County Electric System’s Storm Preparedness & Power Restoration Plan
“At Benton County Electric System, the safety of our employees, customers, and community is our top priority. As we prepare for the potential impact of severe weather this weekend, we have a structured plan in place to respond efficiently and restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
Our Plan of Action:
Monitoring & Preparedness: We are actively monitoring weather conditions and staying in close communication with emergency management teams to anticipate potential impacts.
Employee Readiness: Our crews are on standby and fully equipped to respond to outages. Additional personnel and resources are prepared to assist if needed.
Public Safety: We urge customers to report outages immediately and stay away from downed power lines. We will provide updates through our website and social media to keep the community informed.
Efficient Restoration: Our team follows a systematic approach, prioritizing critical infrastructure (hospitals, emergency services) first, followed by restoring power to the largest affected areas before addressing individual outages.
Community Support: We are working closely with local agencies to ensure a coordinated response and will update customers on restoration efforts as new information becomes available.
We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation during severe weather events and remain committed to restoring power safely and efficiently.
For updates, follow our official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BCESTN) or contact our customer service team.
To report outages:
– Text “Outage” to 877-731-8251
– Call 877-731-8251 to report outage
– Visit https://www.hometowngrid.com/bces to see a live outage map of Benton County
– Call our 24/7 Emergency Dispatch Service 731-584-8251
– Send us a Direct Message on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BCESTN””
WEATHER ALERTS
It is essential during severe weather you receive emergency alerts. You can download our weather app by clicking here. With our weather app, you will receive timely emergency alerts that help keep you safe.
LIVE COVERAGE
We will have you covered throughout the entire severe weather event and all you have to do is make sure you have downloaded our weather app or news app and keep your phone charged. You can watch our live coverage through our weather app and news app or by clicking here.
For more weather news and coverage, click here.
SEE ALSO: Resources to keep at your fingertips during severe weather
