Bibb County EMA, Georgia Power encourage residents to stay prepared during hurricane season

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — With Hurricane Laura making landfall along the Gulf Coast soon, Macon-Bibb Emergency Management Agency and Georgia Power encourages residents to be prepared in case Mother Nature changes for the worst.

“It only takes one storm whether it’s category 1 or category 3 you have to be prepared at all times,” said Director of Emergency Management for Macon-Bibb Spencer Hawkins.

Hawkins says hurricane season lasts until November 30. He says right now, we are in the peak of the season.

“That’s when the water is the warmest, that’s when the conditions are right for hurricane development, and as you can see we’ve had lots of hurricane development over the last couple of weeks,” said Hawkins.

Hawkins says even though Hurricane Laura’s track is not projected to hit Middle Georgia, you should still be prepared because it could change at any time.

“In 2017 Hurricane Irma was coming through and all of the forecast tracks had it moving along the east coast of Florida, coming up the east coast of Georgia, and hanging out through North Carolina”

Hawkins says an hour later the hurricane shifted, crossing over Macon-Bibb County, causing major damages.

That’s why Craig Bell with Georgia Power says everyone should have a 3 step safety process. He says to write your disaster plan, build your disaster kit, and stay informed.

Bell says if Hurricane Laura changes paths and heads toward Middle Georgia, the company is available to assist quickly to any power outages.

“Fallen trees on the powerlines, fallen trees across transformers, sometimes substations,” said Bell.

Bells says Georgia Power monitors weather 24/ 7 to make sure the company can deal with any weather conditions.