Six Area Counties Represented At Saturday Event
Murray County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service joined forces to present the 13th annual Severe Weather Awareness and Disaster Preparedness Day on February 22nd in Sulphur.
The training was held at the Murray County Expo Center.
Attending participants came from Carter, Murray, Garvin, Marshall and Pottawatomie counties with over 60 in attendance.
Brian McDaniel, Emergency Management Director for Murray County organized the training for the purpose of bringing interested citizens together to discuss and train for future emergency situations. McDaniel stated, “whether you are a storm spotter or not, the more you know the more ability you have to keep yourself and your family safe.”
Topics for the day included introduction of the new Natural Disaster Crisis Counseling Team founded by a FEMA grant to the Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Center in Sulphur. An update on the Oklahoma MESONET service was presented by James Hocker, the American Red Cross shared their services available along with Neil Mayo, deputy Emergency Management director for Murray County, discussing his role in monitoring weather. The final discussion was presented by Amanda Thompson of the Okla. Department of Health and the role they play when a disaster strikes.
The storm spotter training was conducted by Rick Smith, coordinating meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Norman and Vivek Mahale, also from the National Weather Service.
The Murray County Expo Center served as a staging area for thousands of emergency responders and volunteers following the devastating EF-3 tornado in Sulphur on April 27, 2024.
