By Travis Walters
The eerie wail of warning sirens can now be heard over 95 percent of Chatham County. “We originally had 35 sirens, we then purchased 33 new sirens,” said Courtney Cunningham, emergency management specialist from the Chatham Emergency Management Agency.
“Eight of the old sirens were replaced in 2009 bringing us to 25 new sirens to distribute to new siren locations throughout the county,” Cunningham said.
“If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs of a tornado, you should be prepared to take shelter immediately in the lowest floor of a building or in an interior room or hallway,” said Jason Rigsbee, director of residence life at SCAD.
Rigsbee provides the following instruction to students:
- Get under a sturdy piece of furniture and put as many walls as possible between you and the outside.
- Stay away from windows.
- If you are outside or in a car with no buildings in site, get out of your car and lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands.
- Do not seek shelter underneath a highway overpass.
“When a tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service, SCAD students, faculty and staff are contacted through the SCAD emergency notification system, Connect-ED,” Rigsbee said.
“The system relies on contact information provided by students, faculty and staff, so we encourage all members of the SCAD community to keep their information updated in MySCAD.”
To update your information log on http://myscad.scad.edu and click on the “My Info” tab. Update links are available in the “My Personal Info” box.
