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Winds as high as 60 mph and as much as 6 inches of rain are expected in Kaufman County as Ike, probably a tropical storm by then, passes over the area.
FEMA personnel, working with the shelter at First Assembly of God in Kaufman, said the bad weather could start Friday evening.
“People need to be gassing up the generators, getting a couple of days of food and water,” said Kathy Morris. She heads the county emergency management office.
She said commissioners have filled their equipment with gas and all employees know they are on call to help with flooding and downed trees, Ms. Morris said. Local police and fire departments also have been preparing.
The county reverse 911 system, which calls residents with emergency information, is up and running. It would be used to let people know about flooding or shelters.
It likely not would be used in case of tornadoes because it wouldn’t be effective, Ms. Morris said. “These aren’t normal Texas tornadoes. Tornadoes are going to be isolated and very rapid,” she said.
All of North Texas has been declared a disaster area by the governor and emergency personnel are available.
Shelters for evacuees have been set up at First Assembly of God in Kaufman, First United Methodist Church in Mabank and Oak Grove Baptist Church in Elmo. Kaufman and Mabank already have evacuees and Elmo was expecting travelers Friday evening.
“They’ve been here since last night,” said Mary Perez at the First Assembly shelter.
She said the church is certified for 60 to 65 evacuees but has 80 to 85. About a third of the evacuees are children.
“We were going to send people into Mabank but FEMA advised us because of the weather to stop them here,” Ms. Perez said.
She said the Kaufman Christian Help Center has been rounding up coolers, water and foods that can be easily fixed without power.
“We could use coolers, ice, water, Gatorade. No sodas. The drinks go fast,” Ms. Perez said.
© Copyright 2005-2008 by Kaufman County Online
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| Last Updated: Jan 4th, 2009 - 18:57:55 |
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