The Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) assists the community with potentially dangerous circumstances, such as inclement weather and natural disasters. With the recent snowstorm hitting the southeast of the country, EMA stepped up to alert the community of the unexpected outdoor conditions.
Baldwin County EMA Director Wayne Johnson has been with the organization since 2014. He believes the agency’s work has become “a huge part” of the local community.
“[It] is the lead agency for coordinating emergency disaster response activities,” said Johnson According to Johnson, five components make up emergency management: response, recovery, prevention, mitigation, and preparation.
“Each one of those areas has its own separate issues to deal with,” said Johnson.
Snow showers Jan. 21 in below-freezing temperatures resulted in icy road conditions. Therefore, Baldwin County’s EMA sent a countywide alert to mobile devices, warning everyone to remain off the roads.
“That was something I sent out myself. The county has a mass notification system,” Johnson said. “People can sign up for it for free, and if you go to Baldwin County’s website and look on the emergency management page, there’s a link to sign up for it.”
While working for the county’s EMA, Johnson hadn’t seen many issues with snow conditions other than an “ice storm” that went through the county when he started the job in 2014. He has found a more frequent pattern of local weather emergencies for rainstorms and hurricanes.
Nonetheless, regarding any disaster, Johnson believes the recovery process for emergencies “is the longest part.” During this phase, the agency typically deals with financial aftermath and donations for the community.
“Recovery is going to start immediately after the event, and it could take months, years, to get back to somewhat normalcy,” Johnson said.
EMA also works to assist the local community and neighboring cities when disasters occur,. During Hurricane Helene, EMA facilitated donation drives in the emergency aftermath and found success in contributions to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.
“We had checkpoints where people were donating non-perishable items, hygiene, just whatever,” Johnson said.
With the possibility of emergency events, Johnson believes it is essential for the community to “prepare to be self-sufficient for 72 hours.” Therefore, individuals can provide for themselves if responders cannot reach them. And in the case of icy conditions, be prepared to stay off the roads and have necessities ready in the home.
“We can’t name every road that is frozen and has icy spots,” wrote Johnson Jan. 22 during the winter weather storm. “We do not have the equipment to clear roads of ice and snow.”
While roads were salted to keep them safe, the county does not have a snowplow to clear these rare, icy conditions. However, Johnson continued to update the Facebook with reports of what roads had unsafe conditions and warned residents of driving hazards to ensure everyone’s safety.
“We do everything we can to ensure our residents have the knowledge they need to stay safe, prepare, and keep them safe,” said Johnson. “We helped those who needed it on and off the roads. Our priority is ensure everyone’s safety and keeping them updated on unsafe conditions and potential hazards.”