Memo from Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security

To Your Organization’s Safety Officer: March 3 – 9 is Spring Severe Weather Awareness Week in Ohio. Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security urges you to exercise your tornado safety plan during the Statewide Tornado Drill at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, March 6.  Tornadoes are a significant hazard here; there have more than two dozen in Franklin County since 1950. Designing and exercising a plan for your establishment will help you respond safely in a real event.

• Listen for the outdoor sirens at 9:50 a.m. on March 6.
• Note this will take the place of the weekly Wednesday noontime outdoor warning siren test in Franklin County, and the system will be activated with a longer tone (three minutes) than in the regular Wednesday tests.  
• Practice your safety plan — go to your designated tornado shelter. Click herefor more information.
• Tell us about your participation and provide your email address in our online survey at: http://www.franklincountyohio.gov/emahs/survey.htm. We will email you a certificate of participation in return.

• Get a weather alert radio. They’re available from most electronics stores and many major retailers. Learn more at www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/.
• Learn about tornadoes and other severe weather hazards we face in Franklin County at the FCEM&HS Web site:  www.franklincountyohio.gov/emahs.
• Take a class like Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Visit the FCEM&HS Web site and click on “Volunteers.” 

• Decide on the safest place to shelter during tornadoes at work, home or school.
• Keep extra emergency supplies on hand, including a battery-operated radio, food, water and medication.
• Learn about emergency plans online at Ready.Gov.

• If you can’t participate in the tornado drill on March 6, conduct your own drill on another day this spring.
• Volunteer five minutes each week monitoring the Franklin County Outdoor Warning Siren System during weekly siren tests.  Get detailshere.