By Jessica Jones
Staff Writer

DAPHNE, Ala. — During “Coffee with the Mayor” Thursday, residents learned about how to prepare for hurricanes, and what available public services are available to them.

Leigh Anne Ryals, Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency director, said the agency is working with Daphne’s officials to prepare for hurricanes and tornados.

With increasing fuel prices, many people would be financially unable to evacuate in the event of a storm, she said. Therefore, Mayor Fred Small had asked the agency to convert the new school on W.J. Caroll Intermediate’s campus into an area shelter.

Daphne East Elementary School is one of two shelters in Baldwin County with concrete reinforced hallways that can withstand 200-mph winds, Ryals said. The other building is Bay Minette Middle School. 

She warned residents to use caution because of the many tornados that spin off from hurricanes.

The agency’s surge maps show how far inland tornados could reach according to the hurricane’s intensity, she said.

The issue seems to be of particular importance to our county.

“Baldwin County leads the state in the number of tornados in a year,” she said.

The agency is working with Murphy Oil USA to have that gas station running soon after natural disasters since Murphy has several, widespread locations, she said.

Gas shortages come from overbuying during natural disasters, according to Ryals, who offered some crucial advice:

“Take what you need and be considerate of your neighbors,” she said.

Emergency procedures need attention as Baldwin County continues to grow, according to officials.

Evacuation time for Category 1 or 2 storms — those with 74- to 95-mph or 96- to 110-mph winds, respectively — for islanders and mobile-home residents would take nearly 15 hours, she said.

By 2030, a Category 5 storm — one with winds greater than 155 mph — would take more than 41 hours to evacuate, which means the evacuation would be called before the hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico, with no definite course for area of landfall, according to Ryals.

To offset leaving times, “we really need to be very proactive with road projects,” she said.

Hurricane response is a constant learning process, according to officials.

“We look at the incident, look at what we wanted to accomplish  and look at what we accomplished that day and what we need to do,” she said.

The agency also trains shelter workers and holds classes in first aid and emergency training.

For a complete list of shelters and services, visit the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency’s Web site at ema.co.baldwin.al.us.

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