Eutaw steps up their game in weather preps and warnings

EUTAW, Ala. (WBRC) - One west Alabama town seems to have stepped up its game when it comes bad weather preparations. The town in question is Eutaw.

Local leaders admitted they were caught somewhat unprepared last spring when a bad storm came through but promised, never again. They quickly brushed up on social media skills and on many different platforms including getting a new weather camera that will soon be attached to the water tank.

Eutaw bills itself as the ‘gateway’ to the Black Belt. Nowadays, it seems as though this town of 3,000 or so has become the gateway to tornados; three bad storms in less than a year’s time; two of them were tornadoes.

“We definitely wanted to be more organized and more proactive,” said Town spokesman Corey Martin.

Case in point; Joanne Porter’s home sustained heavy damage in the Jan. 12 tornado and noticed right away her debris got picked up rather quickly.

“Oh, yes they helped with the clean-up a lot especially along with the street,” Martin said.

Martin says the storm that struck an apartment complex last spring was a wake-up call. They no longer wait on the weather experts to warn everyone.

“That was in April and we realized how unprepared we were. We just weren’t ready. Well, we’re using the notification system, our website to make things more effective,” said Martin.

From social media to boots on the ground coordination, Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Broach has seen the change and felt the difference.

“It was a lack of coordination we needed to grow in to be able to grow in interdepartmentally, the sheriff’s office, fire and EMA to come with a better coordinated plans on how to better prepare our citizens,” said Broach.

Broach and Martin don’t even bother trying to figure out why Eutaw seems to get hit often. What matters, they say, is being prepared and weather aware.

Thankfully, in all of those three storms there were no deaths and no reported injuries. They hope it stays that way with their constant diligence in being alert long before the storm hits.

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