Today marks the first official day of hurricane season, and top weather analysts are predicting an active 2018 season. Last season saw a record number of seventeen named storms, ten hurricanes and six major hurricanes, with Hurricane Irma taking a direct swipe at our area. Although our area dodged the worst, City of Thomasville staff says that last year’s experience is reason to prepare for the storm season ahead.
“Hurricane tracks are unpredictable and can change suddenly,” said Dustin Infinger, City of Thomasville marketing manager. “That is why now is the time to begin preparing for a storm so that you can make sure your family and your property are prepared well in advance of a real threat.”
Assembling hurricane supplies should be at the top of your storm prep list, said Infinger. “It is important to gather your supplies before the busy storm season begins. Be sure you have items such as batteries, flashlights, and a first aid kit ready.”
Other items that may be needed when a storm is imminent include enough food and water for each person in your family to last at least a week. “You should also be sure you have your medications ready, your car gassed up and cash on hand.”
Preparing your home and property for severe weather is also important. Before a storm hits is the time to look for low hanging limbs or branches that may need to be removed from trees on your property. “You don’t want to prune trees and shrubs when a storm is near unless you have a way to immediately dispose of the yard trimmings and debris,” said Infinger. “Instead, take time now to assess your property and remove anything that may come down in a storm.”
When a storm is near, the most important act you can do is to stay informed. “It is important to monitor these situations carefully as storms are unpredictable and can change suddenly,” said Infinger. “NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service) is the primary source for official weather watches and warnings; local news and radio stations are also a good source of up-to-date information.”
As a storm approaches, you should also unplug all electronic devises, bring your pets indoors, close your windows, and close and secure any outside screen or shed doors before severe weather strikes.
There are some very important things to keep in mind after a storm as well. “Never drive through flooded areas or over downed power lines,” said Infinger. “Stay away from downed power lines and report them immediately. Don’t get close to them or try to handle them in any way; power lines carry a huge risk of electrocution if any part of your body makes contact with them.”
It is also important to know how to properly report outages. “The City of Thomasville has invested in an outage management system that assists with monitoring and identifying outages in the electric system,” said Andrew Wharton, GIS systems administrator. “The benefit of this system is that a customer’s telephone number is recognized when calling into our system to report an outage when the telephone number is associated with a utility account.”
In addition, a new system has been introduced that is even more efficient than calling. Tville TextAlert is a service offered by the City that allows customers to report electric outages and receive updates on outages through text messages on their mobile phone or device. “During times of high call volumes when there are wide spread outages, using Tville TextAlert will allow City of Thomasville staff to more quickly pinpoint the locations where the outages are occurring,” said Wharton. “Customers will also be able to receive updates on the status of the outage via text message through this service.” Customers can sign up for Tville TextAlert simply by texting TVILLE to 85700.
For more information about the Tville TextAlert, or any of the City of Thomasville’s services, call 229-227-7001 or visit thomasville.org.