3/1/2015

The dangers of a storm don’t end with its passage

   I think most Mississippians start getting spring fever on Jan. 2, as soon as the holiday activities subside.
   Spring is indeed a glorious time in Mississippi. As if you need a little push to get in the mood, maybe this issue’s stories of colorful butterflies and songbirds will do the job. But springtime has a dark side too, in the form of severe storms and tornadoes. There are sobering reminders in many Mississippi communities—Louisville, Smithville, Tupelo and Yazoo City, to name a few—of these storms’ destructive and deadly power.
   A bit of tornado trivia: In 1936, a 1-year-old named Elvis Presley survived an estimated F5 tornado that slammed his hometown of Tupelo, killing at least 233 people. It is one of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history.*
   They didn’t have the effective warning systems in place back then that we have now. (Even if folks had been warned, many would still have perished in an F5.)
   Alerts (and weather radar) on smartphones, local sirens and “breaking news” TV reporting undoubtedly save lives today by giving people time to take cover. But it’s still up to us to be alert to those warnings. One tornado victim said in a TV interview last year that she didn’t know a tornado was occurring until she saw it bearing down on her neighborhood.
   It’s also important to remember that the danger doesn’t end with the storm’s passage. A tornado- stricken area will have downed power lines, and there is no way for the public to determine whether these lines are energized or not. Even if the power is off in the immediate area, an individual line could still be “hot” and extremely dangerous. Fatalities have occurred when homeowners tried to move a power line themselves.
   The No. 1 rule of electrical safety is to avoid contact with all power lines, damaged or not. If you touch a live wire, it will likely be the last thing you ever touch.
   If you see a downed or low-hanging power line at any time, call your electric provider immediately to report it. Do NOT approach the line or any trees it may be touching, and keep others out of the area.
   Children must learn this safety lesson too, and the sooner the better. Never allow children of any age to roam through storm damage.
   Electric power association linemen undergo extensive training to gain the life-saving skills necessary to restoring power after a natural disaster. Everyone wants their power back on quickly, but linemen can’t ignore safety.
   Electric power association members seem to get this. We usually see a lot of “atta boys” on social media after storm work, and we’re always grateful for the public’s patience.
   Part of our job as electric cooperatives is to educate our members about electrical safety. If you ever have a question about electrical safety or see a situation that prompts such a question, please don’t hesitate to call your electric power association. Your concern will be taken seriously and your questions will be answered by highly trained electric power professionals.
   As for me, I’m looking forward to shaking off winter in the coming weeks and giving some wild turkeys a good chase—after I check the weather forecast.
* From “Mississippi Weather and Climate,” by Kathleen Sherman-Morris, Charles L. Wax and Michael E. Brown.

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