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Local tornado warning system gets test, but some residents don't know what to do
"When the tornado warning sirens went off, we had people calling 911 and asking what that noise was," said Jerry Hackney, Wilkes 911 Director and Deputy EMA Director. "I wondered, how many people in this county don't realize that when the siren sounds, it means a tornado's been spotted and they're supposed to be taking cover right now." Just before 6 p.m. last Tuesday, the National Weather Service detected a possible tornado by radar, which was also visually detected near Union Point and heading toward Wilkes County. They issued a tornado warning, which means a tornado has been sighted. (A tornado watch means conditions are right for a tornado to form, but a tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted visually or on radar, and to take cover now.) When the warning was issued, Wilkes County's new weather alert radio system worked as advertised, broadcasting the alert and the details and setting off bad weather alert radios in homes all over the county. "It's the responsibility of each family to have a working NOAA weather alert radio like you get at Radio Shack," Wilkes EMA Director Alan Poss said. "The sirens only reach population concentrations, so each family needs a NOAA weather alert radio, with batteries. It will even wake you up in the middle of the night when a tornado is near, and NOAA will tell you just what to do." When the tornado warning siren went off, Poss said, some people knew what to do - go to a basement or downstairs inside room, or the lowest floor of a building. Many knew to get out of their mobile homes and vehicles and get into a sturdy building. "Wills Memorial Hospital and the nursing homes responded perfectly," Poss said. "They have tornado plans in place, and they exercised those plans without a hitch." Once in a safe spot, many tuned a radio or TV to get more information. WJBF Channel 6 in Augusta was the only area station to interrupt progr amming to bring live radar images of Wilkes County, which allowed both citizens and authorities to track the dangerous storm as it crossed north Wilkes County from Rayle to south of Tignall. "The NOAA weather alert on the radio gave very detailed information about the storm, too, and that's why families need to carry their weather radios into the shelter," Poss said. But some folks did the exact wrong thing when a tornado has been spotted. They went outside to look for themselves, or failed to take proper cover. "When the tornado warning siren goes off, it's not a tornado watch, it's a tornado warning, and that means take cover at once. It's not a time to be a spectator."
Poss said that anyone with questions about emergency response during a tornado should contact him at 706-678-7422.
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