CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — At the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Crawford County, their search and rescue team are ready for the next three days of severe weather threats.
"We've got three days of severe weather and who knows what could happen?" Veronica Robins, director of Emergency Management for Crawford County, said. "We’ll be here 24 hours a day, as long as weather is in our area."
The search and rescue team is made up of 25 people from all different backgrounds who want to serve the county. For the next three days, there will be six people at the EOC and the rest will be on call.
"We have teachers. We have nurses. We have EMTs. We have sheriff's department deputies. We have firefighters," Robbins said. "When we've had some other storms, we had trees down, we had our chainsaws out and loaded into trucks. We went out and helped the fire departments remove trees off the roads. We've helped pull people out of ditches when it was needed."
Robins said Monday night’s storms specifically pose some concerns, as they’re expected to come through 5COUNTRY while most people will be asleep.
"Set your alarms for about an hour early before they expect to get here," Robins said. “See what the weather's like, see if it's getting severe. See if you're going to have to stay awake and watch as it comes through the county.”
Robins recommends having a plan in place if there’s a tornado warning. If you don’t feel safe in your home or you live in an apartment, Robins said utilize a storm shelter wisely.
"Go to the center of their home [on the] lowest floor, preferably in a small room with no windows," Robins said. "Prepare in case electric goes out. Make sure you have candles and flashlights."
She also advises to take shelter before it gets bad.
"Don't wait till that warning goes off to get there," Robins said. "You want to be there before the storm warning is sounded. You don't want to take that risk driving to a shelter during that time."
Crews will be ready until the threat of storms is over.
"It's all hands on deck. We've been basically just covering the county, trying to get as much knowledge as we can out there," Robins said.
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