By By ANNA M. LEE Managing Editor
When hurricanes and tropical storms threaten the Gulf Coast, local agencies and power providers already have plans in place for dealing with them.
At press time, weather services reported that Bonnie would hit land late Wednesday or early Thursday near Panama City, Fla. In that case, the Brewton area would only be affected by rains associated with the storm -- not the severe weather.
David Jennings with the Escambia County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) says that Tropical Storm Charley might be a greater concern to this area as it approaches landfall Sunday afternoon. Jennings and the EMA are in constant contact with the Mobile Weather Service, to keep the public updated on developments related to Bonnie, Charley or any other tropical disturbances.
According to Danny D'Andrea with Alabama Power, if weather reports indicated that Bonnie or Charley were going to be a direct threat to the Brewton area, Alabama Power would begin assembling crews to handle problems.
At Southern Pine Electrical Cooperative, a disaster plan is in place at all times, and everyone knows what will need to be done and when to do it, in the event of a severre storm.