Franklin County Receives StormReady® Recertification

Posted: 6/21/2018

COLUMBUS – Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security (FCEM&HS) is happy to announce that the National Weather Service in Wilmington has recertified Franklin County as a StormReady® Community. The County’s StormReady® designation was originally obtained in 2015 and has been extended for another three years.

StormReady® is a “grass roots” program sponsored by NOAA’s National Weather Service that focuses on improving communication and severe weather preparedness in communities. The program provides communities with the skills and education to survive severe weather – before and during the event. StormReady® communities are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education and awareness.

To become StormReady® a community or county must:

Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center.
Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public.
Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally.
Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars.
Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercise

"The renewal of Franklin County's StormReady® certification highlights our collaborative relationships with our public safety agencies and our commitment to providing early public warning and effective response measures to the citizens of Franklin County," said Jeffrey J. Young, Director, Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security. "I would like to thank the National Weather Service in Wilmington for recognizing our efforts to improve emergency first responder and citizen preparedness in the event of a severe weather event."

Click here for more information on the NWS StormReady® Program.