Emergency Management Officials Prepare for Arctic Blast
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MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — The arctic blast is bringing temperatures to West Tennessee that we haven’t seen in 20 years. The Jackson Madison County Emergency Management Agency says it’s important that we all work together. “You can make some plans now and do something prior to the emergency or disaster,” Marty Clements said, Madison County EMA Director. “If you can mitigate the things and make it easier on you, then it makes it easier on us and we can take care of you better,”. Clements says losing power is not a major threat, but if it happens, you should rely on safe alternatives like generators and kerosene heaters. “It may say that it’s 10 degrees, you think you can handle it, but the wind chill is 10 or 15 degrees below zero and it does affect you entirely different,” Clements said. For anyone who’s homeless, Clements says they’re working with non-profit organizations to make sure shelter is available. “As it comes to the homeless A.R.M., Area Relief Ministries has got it taken care of,” Clements said. “They’ve got two churches every night.” Clements says he’s been working with city officials to open warming facilities for the arctic blast, but the name of those facilities won’t be released until the temperatures actually drop. “Right now, we’re not as in bad a shape as some of these others but just in case, we gotta be prepared,” Clements said. If and when certain areas start to freeze, the warming locations will be released at that time.
