By RAY WYCHE

Even before the rains from the season’s first named tropical storm have soaked in, Columbus County is preparing for weather far worse than the wetness Alberto dropped on us.

With the prospect of a “severe” hurricane season—national officials predict 26 named storms this year — on their minds, 52 officials from several county agencies gathered last week to plan what actions their staffs will take if Columbus County is hit with a high-energy storm. The planning session dealt with an agenda that considered actions far more extensive than warning the public that high winds and heavy rains are on the way.

The Emergency Services offices, where last week’s meeting was held, will become the busy nerve center of a widespread network of agencies, all contributing to the well-being of county residents in the event a hurricane as strong as some that have blasted the county in past years visits us this season.

Emergency Services is the umbrella agency in crisis situations such as hurricanes, but Emergency Services Director Ronnie Hayes relies heavily on other public service groups, such as the Red Cross, Department of Aging, Department of Health, Department of Social Services, law enforcement agencies, town officials and others.

“This is the emergency center,” Hayes says as he shows off a neat room designed for a group of people who make joint decisions in the event of a bad storm. The command room is equipped with desks and chairs for up to about 30 people, although more can be crowded in if needed.

“We like to keep it to about 30 people,” Hayes says of those working in the Emergency Center during a crisis event.

The walls are lined with electrical and communication outlets. The office suite is designed for long-term occupancy; there are bunk beds and bathrooms complete with showers since some personnel, such as nurses from the Health Department and the Department of Aging awaiting calls to attend to injured and sick evacuees, may be on duty for several hours.

The communication systems—cell phones and radios connected to county rescue squads and others, and computers tied in to the National Weather Service—have been tested and are ready for action.

The command center will be staffed with people from many agencies.

“We have county people—Health Department, Sheriff’s Office, Department of Social Services, Red Cross, mayors and fire and police chiefs from the towns—meeting in here. All decisions about shelters are made by the group,” Hayes says.

Five schools scattered throughout the county—East Columbus, Old Dock Elementary. Edgewood Elementary, South Columbus and West Columbus—have been designated as emergency shelters if a strong hurricane hits. The buildings are structurally safer than most dwellings and will have water and toilet facilities. For liability purposes, these shelters are considered to be operated by the American Red Cross, although managers of the shelters may come from other public agencies.

“They are Red Cross shelters,” Hayes says, even though employees from other agencies may be in charge.

Agencies and departments dealing with the public will come to the Emergency Center when the word gets out that a dangerous hurricane is on the way. The local Red Cross chapter, housed next door to the center, will have its staff and volunteers present from the beginning; the first agency most people think about during an emergency is the Red Cross.

Having volunteers trained to handle the many problems people encounter when disaster strikes is a high priority for local Red Cross chapter Manager JoAn Rhodes.

“We are training new volunteers in addition to those we already have,” Rhodes says, as most of her workers are volunteers.

The volunteers will be busy if a big hurricane hits our area.

“They do a number of things,” Rhodes says of her volunteers. “They man shelters and help distribute supplies.

“We know were going to be involved, and we try to improve each year. We’re better prepared each year. Everyone works together in disaster recovery,” she adds.

The Red Cross has a limited emergency supply of food that is usually distributed by local fire and rescue squads.

Emergency Services is housed in a plain brick, box-like building at the rear of the Health Department’s Miller Building. In the parking lot, lined up ready to be hooked to towing vehicles, are five single-axle trailers with metal van type bodies. The trailers were purchased by the Lake Waccamaw Presbyterian Church and donated to the county.

Each trailer is filled with cots, small generators and emergency lighting systems. If needed, emergency, short-term food supplies are distributed by the Red Cross and volunteers.

During a disaster such as a hurricane or ice storm, the trailers will be towed to the five shelter sites in the county and tied down to prevent their being blown over.

Hayes says most school shelters are hooked on to municipal water-sewer systems that continue to operate during power outages since most towns have emergency generators.

Getting electrical power restored to peoples’ homes is a high priority for Emergency Services.

“We work closely with Brunswick Electric and Progress Energy,” Hayes says, to get electricity to residences as quickly as possible.

A large chalkboard in the Emergency Services conference room lists the shelters and the number of “special needs” people, those using oxygen generators or living alone and lacking means of traveling on their own.

Emergency Services keeps a limited supply of food in its facilities but most emergency food is handled by the Red Cross.

“I probably couldn’t feed 100 people one day,” Hayes says. “We’re set up for small events” with food supplies, he adds.

Delivering food to outlying areas during a storm can be tricky.

“When the wind gets high, we can’t go,” Hayes says. Most of the deliveries are made by fire and rescue personnel who may be unable to get their vehicles on the road due to bad conditions.

The heart of Emergency Services is a super-secured communications room with locked doors that can be opened only when a coded card is pressed against a lock mechanism. The name of the person using the card and the time are automatically recorded. Outside technicians who come in periodically to check the communications equipment undergo fingerprinting and background criminal checks before being allowed to work in this room.

The sophisticated communications systems can get in touch with all emergency units in the county and with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, as well as with out-of-county units. Several computers in the building are programmed to receive the latest storm information from the Weather Service, including predictions on the expected paths of hurricanes.

If a hurricane strikes Columbus County this summer or fall, efforts are in place to lessen the harmful aspects of the storm, particularly in regards to protecting human lives.

“Hopefully, we’ve done enough pre-planning,” Hayes says. “We’ve prepared for it.”