Walker County Emergency Operations Center
The National Weather Service has renewed Walker County’s designation as a StormReady Community. The four-year designation provides continued recognition of the county’s efforts to reach a high level of preparedness for severe weather.
"Whether it be snow and ice, the potential for a tornado, or a severe thunderstorm, we strive to minimize the vulnerability of our citizens during potentially hazardous weather,” said Curtis Creekmur, Emergency Management director, Walker County. “The StormReady Community designation means we meet or exceed benchmarks established by the NWS and Georgia emergency management officials for planning and community notification during weather events.”
Some of those benchmarks include the development of a formal hazardous weather plan, establishing a 24-hour warning point and Emergency Operations Center, hosting community seminars on public readiness, utilizing a corps of trained storm spotters, and offering multiple methods to notify the public of severe weather forecasts and warnings.
“We have over 7,400 unique subscribers to our SirenGPS community notification system,” said Joe Legge, director of Communications, Walker County. “We encourage everyone to sign-up for this free service to receive potentially lifesaving information as it’s issued by NWS.”
SirenGPS automatically sends smartphone notifications, text messages and will even call landlines when the NWS issues severe weather warnings. Residents can sign up by downloading the SirenGPS app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Those without a smartphone can be added to the notification system by calling the Board of Commissioners office at (706) 638-1437 or sending an email to alerts@walkercountyga.gov.
Walker County also uses the Facebook Local Alert system, which pushes weather warnings into the newsfeeds of Facebook users. In addition, several digital message boards have been installed throughout the county to alert drivers during hazardous weather conditions.
This is the fourth time since 2015 that the NWS has recognized Walker County as a StormReady Community.
Walker County 911 Center