KINGSVILLE (August 19, 2024) — The National Weather Service has renewed Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s status as a StormReady® community. The university was originally named StormReady in 2011 and have had the designation renewed three times since then.
"Achieving StormReady status is crucial for our campus community. It demonstrates our commitment to student, faculty, and staff safety. By being prepared for severe weather, we can protect lives, minimize property damage, and ensure the continuity of our academic mission,” said Dr. Shane Creel, executive director of Enterprise Risk Management at TAMUK.
"TAMUK's StormReady designation goes beyond weather safety. It is a commitment to the well-being of our campus community. Knowing we have robust plans in place for severe weather brings immeasurable peace of mind to our campus community," Creel added.
The nationwide community preparedness initiative empowers local communities to develop tailored plans and strategies for handling severe weather threats and events. Participation is voluntary, and the initiative offers communities with direct, actionable advice from the local National Weather Service forecast office and a network of emergency management professionals to assist with making informed decisions while building resilience.
To be recognized as StormReady, a community must establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center and have multiple ways to receive and disseminate severe weather forecasts and warnings to alert the public.
In addition, a community must maintain a system that monitors local weather conditions; promote a public awareness program to educate the campus community about severe weather safety; and develop an advanced emergency operations plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and conducting emergency exercises focused on mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery from a severe weather event.
StormReady® is a registered trademark used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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