Officials from the National Weather Service (NWS) Central Illinois Forecast Office in Lincoln declared Champaign County a Storm Ready® County during a presentation at the Tuesday December 11th County Board meeting. This award has only been given to 18 other counties in Illinois. The award is in recognition of the County EMA and local agencies active planning, training and preparedness for weather related emergencies.
The award was presented by Chris Miller, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, Lincoln, and accepted by Champaign County Board Chair Alan Kurtz, Champaign County EMA Director, John Carlson, Champaign County EMA Deputy Director, John Dwyer, and Champaign County EMA Public Information Officer Rick Atterberry.
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StormReady® is a registered trademark used by NOAA.
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With
holiday shopping in full swing, you might want to consider presents and
stocking stuffers that could save lives during emergencies.
Gifts such as NOAA Weather Alert radios, flashlights and first-aid kits can help
friends and family prepare for disasters, while smoke alarms, carbon monoxide
detectors and fire extinguishers will make their homes safer.
A vehicle preparedness kit is easy to assemble. A backpack or rubber tub can be stocked with items such as a flashlight,
extra batteries, blankets, jumper cables, first aid kit, windshield scraper,
small shovel, water bottles and some non-perishable snack foods.
Fire safety and prevention gift ideas, such as foldable ladders for second-story emergency escapes and
flameless scented candles, are also great gift ideas.
Most preparedness and safety gift items can be found in hardware and department
stores. For additional information on emergency preparedness, visit the Ready
Illinois website at www.Ready.Illinois.gov.The OSFM website, www.sfm.illinois.gov,
offers more information about fire safety.
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Forty volunteers completed a
16-hour Ground Search and Rescue training course on the weekend of October
20-21, 2012.Training began at the ILEAS
(Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System) classroom facility in Urbana and then
moved to Homer Lake in SE Champaign County.The training was conducted by Illinois Search and Rescue Council
certified instructors, from the McLean County EMA Search and Rescue Team and
the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office / Search and Rescue Team.The training included an overview of SAR
fundamentals, lost person behavior, SAR operations in the field, and search
crew field operations both during daylight and at night.Champaign County EMA, the Champaign County
Sheriff’s Office, the Cornbelt Fire Protection District Dive Team, and the Homer
Fire Dept. assisted in the training.
Approximately 50 people attended the first team meeting for the Champaign County Search and Rescue Team on Saturday, August 25, 2012. Command Staff from the Search and Rescue Division of the McLean County Emergency Management Agency gave a classroom presentation of Search and Rescue principles. Members were then invited outside to view and better understand several types of equipment used on a search deployment. Exhibits included the McLean County SAR Team trailer, Champaign County EMA Command Post vehicle, Champaign CERT trailer, ITECS communications trailer, Sheriff’s Office ATV and other equipment.
Champaign County EMA and local ESDA organizations closely monitored severe storm activity on Thursday, August 16. Several storm spotters were out for a short period of time. Illinois climatologist Jim Angel says the Champaign-Urbana area received 1.82" of rain on Thursday, by far the highest amount received this year. No significant reports of damage were received.
