Greenwood County residents received an early morning wake-up call last Tuesday, April 16, as severe weather impacted the area. Alerts to take shelter were sent through Greenwood County Alerts, Weather Radios and other app notification systems around 4:15 a.m., notifying residents in the Eureka area to seek shelter as they were in a tornado watch. According to the National Weather Service, two tornado tracks were found across Greenwood County from storms last week. The strongest tornado was an EF-2 that occurred south of Virgil around 7:30 a.m., which went unreported until Greenwood County Road and Bridge checked the area later in the morning. Warning systems did not go out as radar didn’t show that severe weather was occurring. However, after the damage was found, three witnesses stated they saw the tornado come through. The EF-2 traveled 2.7 miles and had a max width of 116 yards. The storm began at 7:34 and ended at 7:42 a.m.
The EF-1 that hit southeast of Eureka, near 100th and P Road, traveled 7.5 miles with a max width of 200 yards. This storm started at 4:21 and ended at 4:37 a.m.
No one was injured during either tornado, with damage to several outbuildings, an unoccupied home, grain bins, fences and trees.
Several residents noted they didn’t receive notifications as they didn’t realize the CodeRed system was no longer active in Greenwood County. Last April, Greenwood County switched to Greenwood County Alerts, through Genasys Mass Notification System. After the storm, an additional 166 people signed up for the alert notifications, bringing the total to 726, as of Monday morning.
Greenwood County Alerts is used to communicate public safety topics including severe weather, evacuations, local emergency notifications, etc. All residents are encouraged to sign up for alerts at https:// greenwoodks.genasys.com/ portal/en. During the registration process, you can choose the types of alerts you receive and how to receive them, including landline phone, cell phone, text/ SMS message and email.
During the registration process you have the ability to customize the order you wish to receive alerts. To receive targeted messages by location, it is encourage to add home addresses when registering. Multiple addresses may be entered.
Emergency Management Director Levi Vinson stated, “Greenwood County Alerts provides local officials with the capability to deliver targeted public safety, emergency, and weather-related notifications directly to our residents so they can make informed decisions in a timely fashion.”
For assistance in setting up an account or for more information, contact Vinson at 620-583-5045 or email lvinson@greenwoodcounty. org. Additional details can also be found elsewhere in this week’s edition.
