Two agencies give out some severe weather safety tips

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - With the threat of severe weather continuing into this afternoon. Two agencies want to remind the public of some safety tips to follow during dangerous weather events.

“Obviously, when there is a threat of severe weather you got the risk of wet road conditions and hazardous roads as well as down trees and powerlines. We deal with a lot of calls regarding that,” said Anna Kate Craig, the Community Risk Reduction Coordinator with the Madison County Fire Depart.

The Madison County Fire Department talks about what to do if powerlines are down near you.

“If there is a down powerline just make sure that you stay away from it. If there are down powerlines and it gets near your car just call 911 immediately,” said Craig.

The department also wants people to be prepared if a tornado is in your area.

“Make sure you do have a safe spot in your home. If you don’t have a storm shelter using an interior room without windows is a place your family can get. If you go ahead and clean that out, you’ll be prepared in any situation,” said Craig.

The Jackson Energy Authority is monitoring the storm from their control center and says they have crews ready to deploy in case of an incident.

“Because with systems like this and they are calling for straight-line winds you never understand where the damage is going to be until it happens. Another thing that we have is our control center. We have 24-hour staff. So, we have our control center staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days per year with operator ready to respond,” said Robert Mullins, the Sr. Manager of Operations with Jackson Energy Authority.

The Jackson Energy Authority also encourages you to call them to report power outages or if powerlines are down.