Emergency experts share their side of severe weather prep
JACKSON, Tenn. — Emergency experts shared some precautions they took to ensure everyone was safe on Thursday.
When storms roll through West Tennessee, two agencies have to watch them closely.
Robert Mullins, Manager of Operations at Jackson Energy Authority, says they are prepared for any natural disaster that may occur.
“The storm is coming in. We have crews scattered in different parts of the city ready to respond depending on where the damage might occur. Also, in our control center, we have 24/7, 24 hours a day monitoring. So we’re constantly looking for outages, and we’re constantly here to accept customers’ calls to let us know where the outages are,” Mullins said.
Mullins says it’s important that residents be aware of their surroundings as well as stay away from any debris caused by the weather.
He says it’s best to call JEA involving any debris or broken power lines.
“We take pride in how we prepare, and we take pride in the reliability of our system; that we’re able to feed electricity from multiple directions to prevent your outage from being an extended outage,” Mullins said.
Stephanie Williams, Director of Planning and Outreach at the Madison County Emergency Management Agency, says EMA runs weekly siren test in preparation for any disaster that may occur.
“We do regular siren testing. We do that every Saturday at noon. We also get prepared ahead of time by having all of our assets in place and having all of our partners in response,” Williams said.
Williams says to ensure the safety of residents and travelers alike, they monitor sever weather before, during and after it has passed.
“You can always make sure if there are any dead trees or limbs that are close to your home, you should get those removed, anything that could blow away or blow into your home. If it’s not strapped down, you should be able to get that secured,” Williams said.
Emergency experts say if you don’t need to be out in this weather, stay home and stay safe.
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