Cornerstone United Methodist Church and its many members from Fayette and Coweta counties will host the annual American Red Cross shelter drill on Sept. 10 to help plan for a variety of natural disasters. The Fayette and Coweta communities are encouraged to attend the “hands-on” exercise.
Cornerstone, in partnership with the Coweta County Emergency Management Agency and the Central Midwest Chapter of the American Red Cross, will host the shelter drill from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 at 2956 Sharpsburg McCollum Road in the Thomas Crossroads area. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.
“In addition to the risk of tornadoes, straight line winds, winter storms and other severe weather we face, we also need to prepare for hurricanes,” said Sarah Wynn, Disaster Program Specialist with the Central Midwest Georgia Chapter. “Hurricanes can directly affect our service area with heavy rains, lightning, strong winds and flash floods, but they can also bring thousands of evacuees to Georgia.”
As part of a coordinated hurricane response effort, Georgia has pledged to shelter up to 50,000 evacuees across 50 counties for five days. The American Red Cross partners with state and local agencies during emergencies and manages disaster relief shelters.
“Our chapter will be called upon to host approximately 1,800 evacuees, so the Red Cross needs community volunteers from across our 20 county service area to help answer the call to give them safe refuge,” explained Wynn. “This shelter drill gives Red Cross volunteers and our community partners an opportunity to experience a full mock shelter in a learning environment.”
Volunteers will get a practical review of shelter management following a major local disaster by converting an empty gymnasium into a fully functioning shelter. The shelter simulation is designed as a “hands on” exercise to sharpen our readiness to survey, plan, open, manage and close a shelter. They will set up cots, learn how to prepare meals and be oriented to the Red Cross’ Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV). Additionally, volunteers will draw upon their training to find solutions for dealing with commonly confronted shelter situations.
Red Cross volunteers, businesses, faith-based organizations, civic and military groups, social and academic clubs, and other organizations are encouraged to participate. No prior experience is necessary. Participants must be at least 18 years old and may bring interested family, friends and colleagues. Lunch will be provided. Volunteers and partners are asked to register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DDNVG3C no later than Sept. 3.
