[Press Release] : National Hurricane Preparedness Week

[Press Releases]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
 
Contact: Zim Schwartze, OEM Director, or Scott Smith, Public
Information Officer - (573) 874-7400
 
National Hurricane Preparedness Week
 
COLUMBIA, MO (May 24, 2010) - The week of May 23 – 29 has been declared
“National Hurricane Preparedness Week” by the National Weather Service
(NWS) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC). While the week is aimed
at preparedness for those living in hurricane-affected area along ocean
and gulf coasts, the Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency
Management (OEM) reminds everyone that the storms can impact us here in
mid-Missouri. 
 
“Everyone knows that when hurricanes make landfall, they have an
immediate and devastating impact on coastlines, but they can also have
an effect on our area,” said OEM Director Zim Schwartze. “Although they
may weaken after making landfall, the remnants of hurricanes can still
reach the Midwest. Those remnants can still bring severe weather, but
the biggest danger comes with the heavy rain and flooding potential they
bring. Residents may not have to prepare for 200 mile per hour winds,
but several inches of rain are likely when those storms hit the area.”
 
Remnants of Hurricane Ike struck mid-Missouri in September 2008,
dumping several inches of rain and triggering flash flooding. That
flooding led to the death of a Boone County woman at a low-water
crossing. 
 
Schwartze advises residents to educate themselves on the effects of
hurricanes on our area’s weather and always be prepared. For more
information on how to prepare for flooding dangers posed by hurricanes,
log on to the Office of Emergency Management’s page of the citys'
website at www.gocolumbiamo.com/EM/. 
 
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Archived press releases can be viewed online at: 
http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Public_Comm/Public_Information/Press_Releases/

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