The City of Biloxi launches its first of three storm preparedness education events tonight, against a backdrop of forecasts with flood advisories and 80 percent chances of rain over the next three days.
“R U Ready?” kicks off this evening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Dr. Frank Gruich Sr. Community Center on Howard Avenue, with a wealth of useful information from emergency managers, county and state agencies and local businesses. The second event will be Wednesday, June 21 at the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center, followed by the third event on Thursday, June 22 at the Joppa Shrine Center.
“If you need a reminder on the need to be prepared for bad weather, you’re seeing it right now,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said. “These ‘R U Ready?’ sessions will provide you a host of useful information, to tell you what you need to know to be prepared for the storms we’re seeing right now and the storms we may see later in this hurricane season.”
Booths will be set up throughout the facility with information on shelter locations, evacuation routes, flood insurance, transportation, pet safety, telephone safety checks, fire safety, hurricane prep kits, boat safety and evacuations, 2017 hurricane guides, electrical safety, recovery clean up, and more.
“These are free events to educate and remind residents about precautions they should take for a tropical storm, hurricane, or even a flooding event,” said Biloxi Fire Battalion Chief and Emergency Manager Michelle Crowley. “They will also have the chance to talk with officials during a 6 to 7 p.m. roundtable discussion as well as see safety product demonstrations.”
Participating organizations are the City of Biloxi, Biloxi Police and Fire Departments, Biloxi Main Street, American Red Cross, BancorpSouth, Coast Electric, Mississippi Power, Fillin’ Station, Gulf Coast Exotic Auto, The Home Depot, Humane Society of South Mississippi, MDOT, MEMA, Mercy Housing & Human Development, Coast Transit Authority, The Salvation Army, ServPro, Smart Vent, Southeastern Door & Window, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Harrison County Emergency Management, and Department of Marine Resources.
Refreshments will also be available during all three events.
See the flyer
See the latest weather advisories
News and notes
On the air: City of Biloxi Public Affairs Specialist Cecilia Dobbs Walton discussed “R U Ready?” this morning on Coast 102 with Super Dave. To listen to the three-minute interview, click here.
Self-serve sand bags: Shovels, sand and sand bag are now available for the public at these locations: Cavalier Park, 2059 Lawrence St.; Popp’s Ferry Recreational Soccer Fields, 2150 Popp’s Ferry Road; Biloxi Fire Station 8, 8479 Woolmarket Road, Biloxi Fire Station 9, 9370 Oaklawn Road; and Todd Migues Park, 425 Parker St.
Meeting reminders: The Biloxi City Council meets at 11 this morning for an update on the downtown restoration efforts and again at 1:30 p.m. today, when council members will have their regularly scheduled meeting. To see the agendas and supporting documents, click here.