2008 Woodie Awards
Preparation key for hurricanes
BRITTANY COFER
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: News
Preparation is key when natural disasters such as hurricanes are on the horizon, a professor said Thursday.
Bill Thomas, professor in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, spoke about agro-defense strategies to a small crowd of 10 students, but he said the message was one Georgians should heed. With hurricane evacuation as a real threat in the lower part of the state, students should be aware of how to respond in such situations.
The lecture was part of a seminar series required for the Agrosecurity Certificate Program, meant to invoke critical thinking in students on issues of food system infrastructure, policy and security.
"We need to have people step forward now to be prepared to operate shelters for people who are evacuating," he said.
The best volunteers are part of an organization and have already been trained, but there is normally time set aside to train volunteers without credentials. The goals of operating a shelter post-impact are to protect people and animals from further injuries and to control the spread of disease, Thomas said.
Planning what to do with household animals is a large part of being ready for hurricanes, he said. This is not only true for the general public, but also for shelters offering refuge to evacuees of areas affected by a hurricane.
"We are trying to get pet-friendly shelters available (to Georgia residents), so there is no reason why you should sit through the hurricane and die just because you didn't want to leave your animal," Thomas said. "Take your animals with you."
He urged everyone to have an emergency plan and to be willing to work with others to execute it.
"It's not 'if,' but 'when' a hurricane will hit," he said.
Bill Thomas, professor in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, spoke about agro-defense strategies to a small crowd of 10 students, but he said the message was one Georgians should heed. With hurricane evacuation as a real threat in the lower part of the state, students should be aware of how to respond in such situations.
The lecture was part of a seminar series required for the Agrosecurity Certificate Program, meant to invoke critical thinking in students on issues of food system infrastructure, policy and security.
"We need to have people step forward now to be prepared to operate shelters for people who are evacuating," he said.
The best volunteers are part of an organization and have already been trained, but there is normally time set aside to train volunteers without credentials. The goals of operating a shelter post-impact are to protect people and animals from further injuries and to control the spread of disease, Thomas said.
Planning what to do with household animals is a large part of being ready for hurricanes, he said. This is not only true for the general public, but also for shelters offering refuge to evacuees of areas affected by a hurricane.
"We are trying to get pet-friendly shelters available (to Georgia residents), so there is no reason why you should sit through the hurricane and die just because you didn't want to leave your animal," Thomas said. "Take your animals with you."
He urged everyone to have an emergency plan and to be willing to work with others to execute it.
"It's not 'if,' but 'when' a hurricane will hit," he said.
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