Buckeye Lake Evacuation Drill
When you hear that sound It means one thing. For the residents of Buckeye Lake Estates the time has come to evacuate their homes and head for safety. Today Licking and Fairfield Counties Emergency Management teams in association with other local law enforcement agencies and the American Red Cross got together to stage an emergency evacuation drill in the hopes of further educating the public and raising awareness when it come to these kind of situations. Emergency Management Director for Licking County, Sean Grady was able to elaborate on what went into this project, as well as why these types of drills are important for area residents.
“One of the things that we’re looking for out of this particular drill is to kind of gauge the amount of time necessary to move the people out of these areas, so then we can modify that to address the whole area in it’s entirety. It’s always a danger because it’s an earthen dam, and one of the biggest risks here is that there’s natural gas on the dam, so anything can happen in a case like that. Anytime you look at a hole developing in a dam, and water coming out, you know as we’ve said for years “Turn around, don’t drown”. Six inches of fast moving water will knock you off your feet.” ~Grady
Mock volunteers were dispersed throughout the area before sounding the alarm. While normally in most emergency situations people are discouraged from bringing their pets, this drill was intended to compensate for the added endeavor. Behind me now you can see the area residents gathering together at the entrance to the Buckeye Lake Estates, there they will board the buses, where they will be taken to the Millersport High School. Once at the High School the residents will be taken to the emergency shelter that has been set-up inside by the Red Cross. Speaking with Executive Director of the East and South Central Ohio Red Cross, Rod Cook, he told us just how important it is to be prepared.
“Everybody needs to take responsibility for their own safety in case something would happen in real life, so we are constantly trying to get people to understand that. Learn how to prepare yourself for any type of disaster, whether it’s a dam breech, or a tornado, or a power outage.” ~Cook
And now that the residents are able to file in and get registered, they can rest easy knowing they are safe and secure in the hands of the Red Cross. For WHIZ News, I’m Quay DeVoll.
