Coastal Georgia is vulnerable to lots of types of severe weather including hurricanes. As hurricane season heats up, residents in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties need to be prepared should a major storm come our way.
Do you have a plan? The time to prepare is before a storm is threatening our area. Ready.gov has everything a family needs to get prepared for any type of disaster including creating a plan, building a ready kit, and special materials and tips that will help prepare children.
Hurricane season lasts from June 1 through November 30. It’s important to pay attention not only to local weather forecasts to find out about potential approaching storms but also consider the bigger picture of developing storms in the Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center is a great resource for tracking storms.
What should go in your ready kit?
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Get more information on how you can prepare for hurricanes HERE.
Functional and Medical Needs Registry
The Functional and Medical Needs Registry is made up of residents who may require transportation and medical assistance during a hurricane evacuation and have no other resources such as family, friends, neighbors, or church members to help them if they need to evacuate. Residents must apply to be on the registry and if they meet the criteria, someone from the Chatham County Health Department will explain to them, in detail, how and when the Registry will be activated should a storm threaten our area.
Residents who meet the criteria and are put on the Registry will be evacuated to an American Red Cross general population shelter in an inland county. The shelter will be located in a gym or other similar setting and it could take several hours to get to the shelter because we want to make sure that those on the Registry are transported well out of harm’s way of the storm.
Functional needs registrants are individuals who may need services to maintain their independence in a shelter. This includes children and adults with physical, sensory, mental health, and cognitive and/or intellectual disabilities affecting their ability to function independently without assistance. Medical needs registrants are individuals who require support of trained medical professionals. This includes those individuals who may need assistance with managing unstable, terminal, or contagious conditions that require observation and ongoing treatment.
It’s important to note that people living in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and personal care homes are not eligible for the Functional and Medical Needs Registry and must follow their facility’s emergency plan.
For more information on the Functional and Medical Needs Registry or to download the registration and consent forms, click HERE.
