This past week, the Rolla Police Department handled 523 calls for service. Of these calls there were: 10 arrests, 12 accidents, 31 traffic complaints, 84 traffic stops, 19 disturbance calls (including domestics), 6 suspicious nature calls, 24 assists of other agencies, 43 911 hang up calls, 18 check the well being requests, 40 animal control calls, 12 stealing calls, 10 escorts, and 39 security checks. This call total is down 13 more calls from last week, which is a great improvement but still a very busy week!
On Friday, December 31, 2010 at approximately 9:22 a.m. the National Weather Service in Springfield issued a “tornado warning” for locations along the I-44 corridor including Ft. Leonard Wood, Phelps County and the City of Rolla. The storm cell responsible for the warning was very large and moving Northeast at approximately 45 mph. Central Dispatch received the warning notification and simultaneously contacted key personnel on our weather warning list and also activated our Early Warning System (EWS) which consists of 9 rotational outdoor emergency warning sirens and 1 fixed location siren. The City of Rolla EWS system is designed to warn city residents of impending severe weather that includes tornadoes and straight winds with speeds in excess of 75 mph. Our policy, restructured in 2007, states that “the City of Rolla will sound all emergency warning sirens upon receiving notification of a tornado “warning” or straight winds in excess of 75 mph” and will continue to sound the sirens until the threat is canceled!”
At approximately 9:45 a.m., Central Dispatch began receiving calls that the tornado had touched down at Ft. Leonard Wood and caused nearly total damage to a housing area. We then received a report of a similar sighting in the Doolittle area. Shortly after, callers reported seeing a funnel cloud touch down on White Columns Drive. Cpl. Adam Meyer was present in Central Dispatch and after hearing of the possibility of a funnel cloud here in town, called in other shifts of officers to assist. Officers were responding to areas where reported sightings for funnel clouds may have occurred. Fortunately no damage was incurred in these areas.
Upon receiving notification of the storm threat, Emergency Management Director, S/Sgt. Rick Williams reported to Central Dispatch to monitor the storm’s progression. As I was preparing to leave my residence to assist, I found myself staring directly at the tornado funnel cloud southeast of my residence. The funnel appeared to be a quarter of a mile from my residence traveling to the Northeast. When the cloud disappeared from sight I left my residence and traveled toward town to offer assistance. I soon learned that my county road was blocked by several downed trees and debris from areas along C.R. 8070 that had been ravaged by the storm. I joined several other motorists along that road who had begun clearing debris with the use of chainsaws and hand tools, and after about an hour I was able to get through. I traveled to the area of C.R. 8070 just north of Rolla and was shocked to see the totality of the damage wrought on those families along that road. I spent the next couple hours assisting citizens and other emergency crews while they checked for trapped residents and sought treatment for those injured and displaced.
I learned that the huge storm cell destined for Rolla, split into 2 smaller cells with one going north of Rolla and the second going south. While those of us in Rolla were very fortunate, the county residents living in those areas were not so lucky. Sadly there were 2 reported deaths from the area near Hwy HH, north of town and 2 more from the Lecoma area in Dent County. Upon arrival at the police department I checked in with Central Dispatch and learned that in addition to the 4 telecommunicators on duty at their 4 designated work stations, Communications Chief Paula Volkmer came in and was running errands from each work station. Communications Supervisor Scott Olds came in and was in a supervisor’s office fielding all business calls. My administrative assistant Kerri Shults was manning another phone trying to keep up with all the non-emergency questions. As you can imagine, the 4 on duty telecommunicators were up to their necks in 9-1-1 calls ranging from fatalities discovered in the tornado path, to vehicles traveling along I-44 that had been blown from the roadway due to high winds. Callers were reporting homes demolished, vehicles thrown about, missing family members, power outages, roadways blocked, injuries from flying debris and many other situations.
S/Sgt. Williams was present in Central Dispatch monitoring messages and imaging of the storm’s progress as provided by the National Weather Service. As it became clear that the City of Rolla was out of danger and that the storms had passed through without landing in Rolla, we focused our attention on assisting those emergency responders in the county that were assisting those affected by the destruction. Other than some isolated power outages and a defective traffic signal, Rolla went pretty well unscathed. Rolla Mayor Bill Jenks called in from the state of Florida for periodic updates and announced that he would be on the next plane to Rolla if needed. City Administrator John Butz called in from St. Louis where he was visiting an ill family member and also stated that he would be back in Rolla as soon as possible.
By 12:00 p.m. it seemed as if the brunt of the bad weather had passed through and that the citizens of Rolla had dodged a very severe bullet. While relieved that we did not incur what could have been a devastating situation, we are truly sorry that our Phelps county neighbors did not fare so well. Fortunately the ravished areas where quickly inundated with emergency responders from the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Phelps County Emergency Management Office, Rolla Rural Fire and Rescue, Rolla City Fire and Rescue, Phelps County Regional Medical Center EMS personnel, RMU and Inter-county Electric personnel, Phelps County and City of Rolla Highway Department crews, MoDot teams, civilian volunteers, rescue workers and faith based relief teams. Once again, we proved that in the time of need, the people of Phelps County come together swiftly and without question until the task is complete.
Among many other entities, our own Behind the Badge group teamed with Phelps County Emergency Management Director Sandy North and set up a fundraising campaign for the many storm related affected families. A PayPal account was set up and almost immediately, money began filtering in for the storm victims. To date, the group has collected over $2,200.00 and of that, 2 checks in the amount of $500.00 was donated to 2 needy families. If you would like to contribute to this relief campaign make checks payable to “Behind the Badge” and drop it by the Police Department or go to PayPal.com and type in the email address of rpdbehindthebadge@hotmail.com You may contribute by credit or debit card. We have received donations from local business, citizens, the St. James Ambulance District and even 2 Hurricane Katrina victims! If you or your family is in need of assistance as victims of these tornadoes, contact Phelps County Emergency Management Director Sandy North at 458-6000.
In regard to the activation of our EWS (warning sirens), we received many calls and comments from citizens from both within the city and county residents in close proximity of the sirens, of how they owe their lives to the warning provided by this system. Several residents stated that they had no clue severe weather was approaching and were shocked into awareness by the sirens. We are very fortunate to have this system in place and will continue to try to find ways to keep our citizens kept up to date on severe weather and other emergencies. Our current system, although still reliable has some components over 30 years old. We have every intention of replacing the worn equipment as soon as the need arises but with a cost of nearly $20,000.00 per siren you can see why this is a concern. Our EWS system is an “outdoor” warning system designed to alert residents who are outdoors away from television, radio, weather radios and other media, of impending severe weather. In most locations, residents are able to hear the sirens from inside their homes but this is hindered by tight soundproof doors and windows, inside noises such as televisions, stereos, blower motors and other sounds.
Ours is not a perfect system and we are continually searching for better ways to keep the public informed. Quite surprisingly, even during a tornado, our Facebook site was yet another tool to “get the word out to the masses!” We had several Facebook fans comment on how they learned of the danger on our site. With that in mind, we have researched a new product offered by a company out of Florida called CodeRed. The company offers a service that is an early telephone warning system designed to automatically deliver targeted weather notifications for the immediate threat of severe thunderstorm warnings, flash flood warnings and tornado warnings within moments of being issued by the National Weather Service (NWS).
In other words, this system will alert citizens via, telephone message, text or email of impending severe weather without any effort or input from the governing agency. As you know the use of cell phones, smart phones, I-Pads and other media devices are on the rise and it seems as if almost everyone carries these devices with them constantly. What better way to let the community know than a personal message that they are sure to receive? This system can also be used by law enforcement and fire districts to warn of major incidences such as barricaded shooters, hazmat spills, power outages and road closings. Public works can use the system warn citizens of road repair projects, parade routes, sewer line breakage and many other functions. Public school systems can utilize CodeRed for parental notification of early school closings and emergency school evacuations and incidents. Health Departments and medical centers can provide pandemic info, vaccine availability, and emergency rerouting.
In February a representative from CodeRed will be in Rolla to present the system to representatives of the first responder, emergency services entities and their governing bodies for their review. This product, if affordable would be one more tool to use in the prevention of personal injury and property damage during a life threatening severe storm. We felt we owed it to the community to at least take a look at the system and see if it will work for us.
Have a great week!
Chief Mark Kearse
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