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Hurricanes
2006 Georgia Hurricane Plan
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is committed to reducing the
vulnerability of Georgia’s counties to hurricane related hazards. The Georgia Hurricane
Plan, Georgia Emergency Operation Plan Incident Annex A, has been developed to
ensure that the state is prepared and will respond in a well-coordinated and effective
manner to a tropical storm or hurricane.
The Georgia Hurricane Plan utilizes Operating Conditions or “OPCONS” for response to
tropical events. This is a phased approach to preparedness, awareness, watch and
warning, evacuation, and re-entry. The Plan also includes the essential steps to
planning, emergency support functions, evacuation and re-entry procedures, as well as
recommendations for future hurricane planning activities.
The Georgia Hurricane Plan has been designed to provide guidance for each
community’s hurricane/tropical event plan. For an emergency plan to remain effective,
it must be reviewed by all counties and exercised annually. The State of Georgia will
treat the Georgia Hurricane Plan as a living document and make revisions as needed.
Information related to meteorology, evacuation and re-entry procedures, as well as
various mitigation projects, will be appended to this document as they are developed.
The Georgia Hurricane Plan has been created with the support of the following
agencies and organizations: American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) including
local National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Offices, National Hurricane Center
(Tropical Prediction Center), U.S. Department of Transportation, various state agencies
and local governments.
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Please be mindful that in order to read this document, your computer must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader 7.0 installed. This document may be downloaded online in its
entirety from here.
3D Hurricane Images
Data from NOAA GOES satellite. Images produced by Hal Pierce and Dennis Chesters, Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Be Aware, Be Prepared
Hurricane Action Checklist
Here is a list of the many things to consider be fore, during and after a hurricane. Some of the
safety rules will make things easier for you during a hurricane. All are important and could help
save your life and the lives of others.
Stay or Leave?
When a hurricane threatens your area, you will have to make the decision whether you should evacuate or whether you can ride out the storm in safety at home.If local authorities
recommend evacuation, you should leave! Their advice is based on knowledge of the strength
of the storm and its potential for death and destruction.
In general:
- If you live on the coastline or offshore islands, plan to leave.
- If you live near a river or in a flood plain, plan to leave.
- If you live on high ground, away from coastal beaches, consider staying. In any case, the ultimate decision to stay or leave will be yours. Study the following list and carefully
consider the factors involved especially the items pertaining to storm surge.
At Beginning of Hurricane Season (June) Make Plans for Action:
- Learn the storm surge history and elevation of your area
- Learn safe routes inland
- Learn location of official shelters
- Determine where to move your boat in an emergency
- Trim back dead wood from trees
- Check for loose rain gutters and down spouts
- If shutters do not protect windows stock boards to cover glass.
When a Hurricane Watch is Issued for Your Area:
- Check often for official bulletins on radio, TV, or NOAA Weather Radio
- Fuel car
- Check mobile home tie-downs
- Moor small craft or move to safe shelter
- Stock up on canned provisions
- Check supplies of special medicines and drugs
- Check batteries for radio and flashlights
- Secure lawn furniture and other loose material outdoors
- Board or shutter windows to prevent shattering
- Wedge sliding glass doors to prevent their lifting from their tracks
When a Hurricane Warning is Issued for Your Area:
- Stayed turned to radio, TV, or NOAA Weather Radio for official bulletins
- Stay home if sturdy and on high ground Board up garage and porch doors
- Move valuables to upper floors
- Bring in pets
- Fill containers (bathtub) with several days supply of drinking water
- Turn up refrigerator to maximum cold and don't open unless necessary
- Use phone only for emergencies
- Stay indoors on the downwind side of house away from windows
- Beware of the eye of the hurricane
- Leave mobile homes
- Leave areas which might be affected by storm tide or stream flooding
- Leave early in daylight if possible
- Shut off water and electricity at main stations
- Take small valuables and papers but travel light
- Leave food and water for pets (shelters will not take them)
- Lock up house
- Drive carefully to nearest designated shelter using recommended evacuation routes.
After the All-Clear is Given:
- Drive carefully; watch for dangling electrical wires, undermined roads, flooded low spots
- Don't sight-see
- Report broken or damaged water, sewer, and electrical lines
- Use caution re-entering home
- Check for gas leaks
- Check food and water for spoilage
Hurricane Preparedness Web site links
Hurricane Terms to Know
Tropical Depression: An organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined
circulation and maximum sustained winds of 38 mph.
Tropical Storm: An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph.
Hurricane: An intense tropical weather system with a well-defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher.
Storm Surge: A large dome of water topped by waves that sweeps across the coastline near where a hurricane makes landfall.
Tropical Storm Watch: Tropical Storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.
Tropical Storm Warning: Tropical Storm conditions are expected within 24 hours.
Hurricane Watch: Hurricane conditions are possible in your area within 36 hours.
Hurricane Warning: Hurricane conditions are expected in your area within 24 hours.
Complete all storm preparations and evacuate if directed by local officials.
Names for Atlantic Storms 2005 - 2007
Prepare your Pets for Disasters
Pets and Disaster: Be Prepared
The following information has been prepared by the Humane Society of the United States in
cooperation with the American Red Cross. Our pets enrich our lives in more ways than we can
count. In turn, they depend on us for their safety and well-being. Here's how you can be
prepared to protect your pets when disaster strikes.
Be Prepared with a Disaster Plan
The best way to protect your family from the effects of a disaster is to have a disaster plan. If
you are a pet owner, that plan must include your pets. Being prepared can save their lives.
Different disasters require different responses. But whether the disaster is a hurricane or a
hazardous spill, you may have to evacuate your home.
In the event of a disaster, if you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect
your pets is to evacuate them, too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe place
for them, is likely to result in their being injured, lost, or worse.
So prepare now for the day
when you and your pets may have to leave your home.
Have a Safe Place To Take Your Pets
Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of states' health and safety regulations
and other considerations. Service animals who assist people with disabilities are the only
animals allowed in Red Cross shelters. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to find shelter for
your animals in the midst of a disaster, so plan ahead. Do not wait until disaster strikes to do
your research.
Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to check policies on accepting pets and
restrictions on number, size, and species. Ask if "no pet" policies could be waived in an
emergency. Keep a list of "pet friendly" places, including phone numbers, with other disaster
information and supplies. If you have notice of an impending disaster, call ahead for
reservations.
Ask friends, relatives, or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your
animals. If you have more than one pet, they may be more comfortable if kept together, but be
prepared to house them separately.
Prepare a list of boarding facilities and veterinarians who could shelter animals in an emergency;
include 24-hour phone numbers.
Ask local animal shelters if they provide emergency shelter or foster care for pets in a disaster.
Animal shelters may be overburdened caring for the animals they already have as well as those
displaced by a disaster, so this should be your last resort.
Public Radio stations
Please visit the Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) Web site for list of radio stations which
may provide evacuation information in the event of an emergency.
Click here to view GPB radio coverage map.
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
All Hurricanes are dangerous, but some are more powerful than others. The way storm surge,
wind and other factors combine determines the hurricanes destructive power. To make
comparisons easier and to make the predicted hazards of approaching hurricanes clearer to
emergency forces, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane forecasters
use a disaster-potential scale which assigns storms to five categories. This can be used to give
an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast with a
hurricane.
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