CHAMPLAIN — The Town of Champlain is StormReady.
It's the first community in northern New York to receive the title, after setting up necessary emergency procedures and completing training seminars required by the National Weather Service initiative.
StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program that uses a grass-roots approach to help develop plans to handle all types of severe weather situations.
The program encourages taking a proactive approach to improve how communities handle the threat of bad weather and provides them with the tools do so.
"I think this is really good for our town," said Chris Trombley, a long-time member of the Champlain Volunteer Fire Department and a deputy fire coordinator for Clinton County Emergency Services.
"It forced us to look at our emergency plans and test our options.
"It's important because everything starts at home base."
EMERGENCY TRAINING
At a recent Town Council meeting, Trombley and others introduced StormReady, a program the Champlain man says his community can benefit from.
Just last spring, the town and Village of Rouses Point suffered through months of flooding when Lake Champlain rose to unprecedented levels. No one forgets the devastating damage from the 1998 Ice Storm and major flooding in 1996 that washed away bridges and roads.
And the Great Chazy River is prone to ice jams at the Perry's Mills hamlet and in the Village of Champlain, sometimes producing flooding in winter and spring.
For Champlain to qualify as a StormReady community, emergency responders had to participate in certain drills and emergency-specific training. A 24-hour warning system and emergency operations center were also introduced.
"We coordinated a lot of our goals throughout the county to ensure safety precautions are in place if a weather hazard does come up," Trombley said.
ACE DONATED RADIOS
There are currently 1,857 towns across the country that are designated StormReady, said Andy Nash, meteorologist-in-charge for the National Weather Service in Burlington.
He said he is excited to have another local community on board with the program; the only other participants anywhere near the North Country are the University of Vermont and the Town of Cambridge, Vt.
"In last six months or so, our staff has been working with Chris and others in the town to make sure folks have all that it takes to meet our criteria," he said. "It's a fairly prestigious honor, at least to us."
Thanks to donation of emergency radios from the local ACE Hardware store, the town was able to meet all the requirements for the certification.
'SENSE OF SAFETY'
At the meeting, the Weather Service representatives gave the council StormReady signs for public display that tell people the town has readied itself for emergencies and also gives a website that residents can go to for tips on being prepared.
"It's not just a sign," Nash said during his presentation. "There is more to it. Our hope is that it gives folks in the community a sense of safety in knowing that there are folks in town that are watching out for them.
"We want them to know we are prepared ahead of a natural disaster, and we will be there after it happens as well."
PARTNERSHIP
As director of Emergency Services for Clinton County, Eric Day knows the importance of facing weather-related catastrophes and how they can dramatically affect residents.
"Disasters start locally and end locally. And it's important that locally, they are prepared," he stressed at the meeting. "When it comes down to it, it is the residents that must deal with it."
"We hope this causes people to think about the emergency plans they need to put in place or already have for themselves or for their family," Nash said.
He said too many people wait until a storm is upon them to take action, and by then, it can be too late.
"It adds some accountability," said Weather Service hydrologist Greg Hanson.
He also stressed the Weather Service's commitment to sharing information quickly with communities.
"We need to make sure we visit Champlain and Champlain visits us to keep this partnership alive," he said.
Trombley said he would like to do more with StormReady this year.
"Our next goal is to make all of Clinton County ready and hopefully encourage others to become involved."
— News Editor Suzanne Moore contributed to this report.
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