Scotty Hancock
Monday begins Severe Weather Awareness Week, a chance for EMA officials to educate the public about the importance of being prepared.
Last year, area residents were put to the test.
On April 15, severe thunderstorms downed trees in the area.
But the worst was yet to come. The first of two tornadoes struck Floyd County on April 27.
Doris Crow of Cave Spring said she escaped serious injury because of Floyd County’s Code Red system, which gives those who sign up for a warning phone call in case of severe weather.
Crow had packed her car and was about to leave for Chattanooga where she worked.
She went back inside to get her blood pressure medicine when she received a Code Red phone call warning her she just had minutes to take cover. The voice she heard was Floyd County EMA Director Scotty Hancock.
She grabbed a rocking chair from the living room, went into a hallway and covered herself, she said. Then she said she heard a “kerplunk.” She decided to check around her home.
“I noticed it was mighty dark in the kitchen. I opened door to bathroom and all I could see was magnolia leaves on the window,” she said. “I saw leaves on the kitchen window. I went to the door and I couldn’t get the door open.”
She couldn’t get the front door open either.
She called emergency officials who came along with some of Crow’s relatives to help.
When she was able to get outside, she saw that a tree had fallen on her car. Two trees had actually fallen in her yard.
“By the grace of God, I was not in that car,” Crow said. “I was so grateful I heard Scotty’s voice (on the Code Red phone call).” To sign up for Code Red warning, which will call your phone, click the Code Red logo near the bottom of the joint Rome-Floyd County website at www.romefloyd.com.
The tornadoes did not end in the spring. A rare December tornado struck Rome and Floyd County on Dec. 22.
“We have been in an April weather pattern in December and January,” Hancock said, referring to the unusually warm winter.
Severe Weather Awareness weeks begins Monday with a focus on Family Preparedness.
“Family Preparedness Day is a time for every family in to plan and rehearse what they should do during the first 72-hours of any severe weather-related event or disaster,” Hancock said.
SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK SERIES
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