Hurricane Michael Preparedness

Tift County elected officials and department heads along with city and state officials met twice today at the Emergency Operations Center to take part in webinar’s with the National Weather Service as Hurricane Michael approaches our community.

Tift County offices, except for public safety and public works, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday and this includes all recreation department activities.

At 4 O’clock Tuesday the County Board of Commissioners met to officially designate Tift County in a State of Emergency.  Beginning Wednesday morning at 8am the Tift County Emergency Management Agency will activate and fully staff its Emergency Operations Center for the duration of Hurricane Michael and its immediate aftermath.  For information you can contact that center at 229-388-6086.  Also, two safe haven shelters will open for local residents, the Omega Baptist Church and the First United Methodist Church.  Those seeking shelter from the storm, residents of mobile homes and non-safe structures primarily, are asked to bring food and bedding for themselves.  As these are temporary shelters they will only be open so long as tropical force winds continue in Tift County.  Additional shelters will be opened if needed.

Residents are urged to remove patio furniture, toys, etc. that could become airborne and cause either injuries or damage.  High winds are expected in Tift County late Tuesday night early Wednesday morning with Tropical Force Winds, arriving by 8am with conditions deteriorating throughout the day.  Weather conditions should improve greatly by early Thursday morning.  Georgia Power and the Department of Transportation will both be staging in Tifton and we appreciate their efforts.