NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — It’s a fact of life along our coast: hurricanes are a threat. You should be ready, just like the emergency responders who protect us.
“The true key is the actions that the individuals take, getting that knowledge, understanding what the risks are, and being prepared,” said Steven Still, New Hanover County’s Emergency Management and 911 Director. “The less they are at risk, the better prepared they are, the less effort we have to put in response on the back end.”
New Hanover County Emergency Management invited several local agencies into the Emergency Operations Center Tuesday morning.
They simulated a Category 1 hurricane to practice what would happen if an actual storm was bearing down on the area.
“We’re running through the processes and procedures and make sure our folks are on the cutting edge of our technology, on the processes and procedures that we roll through as we address an event such as this,” Still said.
Major Donald Taft from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office says he hopes people see that everyone involved is prepared for the worst.
“This is something we don’t just do in the heat of the moment,” Taft said. “We train for this annually, we prepare daily, and we rely on those response plans and protocols. It should allow the public to have some confidence that we can take care of them in their time of need.”
Before and during an actual event, emergency management is in contact with the National Weather Service to determine what the impacts on our area could be.
Hurricane season begins on June 1 and runs through November 30.