April 13, 2007
Americus -- There were a lot of lessons learned in the deadly March 1st tornadoes. It pays to always be prepared for bad weather. Some Americus tornado victims from Americus have some advice for the rest of us.
It's a routine afternoon in south Georgia, there are chores to be done, laundry to hang, but in the back of Sara Scarborough's mind, she's planning for this weekend's bad weather, just like she had a plan March first. "We had a plan that we would get in the hallway on account of breaking glass and all."
Sara's plan kept her family safe, but like her neighbor Mary George, she wishes she had more supplies. "Flashlights and candles, and then when the lights did go completely off we needed generators then."
"I think definitely a weather radio, stay tuned to the news and the weather channel." Janis Warren's plan also paid off, information that she needed was at her fingertips because she thought ahead. "Keep your information and your important papers with you, because with FEMA you needed homeowners insurance policy you needed all that documentation so its really important."
Everyone should have a plan in place especially when forecasters say this weekend's weather could end up exploding over south Georgia. "A 'bomb' is a rapidly intensifying storm and that's what it's going to do when it gets close to southwest Georgia, actually it will be in central Georgia, that's when it's really going to explode. Bringing rain, thunder storms and possibly tornados again to south Georgia," said WALB meteorologist Chris Zelman.
Other items the Department of Homeland Security recommends you have on hand in the event of an emergency includes- extra batteries, a first aid kit, a dust mask, tools, a can opener, additional medications, and a local map.
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