Rare News Desk
I can’t bring myself to call the snow last week, “Snowpocalypse.” I’ve lived through tornadoes, an earthquake in California, storms and snow and ice of all kinds. I was stuck for hours on the bridge over the Tennessee River in 1982 and I remember the ice storm in 1973 where then Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell gave residents blocks of dry ice to try to save the food in their freezers since we were without power for several days.
Videos by Rare
The things we did to keep warm during those days without power were old school. My dad heated up bricks on the grill and put them in the beds at night. We had hot water so we played cards in the utility room all day with my 93-year-old grandmother with the water heater keeping the room warm. When the power came back on, the temperature in the house was less than 25 degrees. So, I know winter weather.
In my radio career, I’ve participated in all-day broadcasts and been called in or asked to stay for all kinds of air shifts due to weather and disaster.
Lessons from last Tuesday?
Let me be clear, all of these events are different and the response will have differences, but at the core of any preparedness is personal responsibility. In the winter, you need to keep a blanket in your car and be sure you keep your gas tank close to full.
However, there are three things that could have made a difference.
First, when the forecast changed at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25, Charley English and GEMA should have notified the governor’s office immediately. English has had a long career and I’m sure doesn’t want it to be marked by one decision, but this was a big one to get wrong.
Second, school-system leadership should have called off school. Don’t take into consideration how many days you’ve already taken off, make the decision based on the conditions today. If GEMA had done their job and set the wheels in motion at 3:30 AM, school would have been called off.
Finally, Todd Long at GDOT said in the press conference on Wednesday, January 26, there had been some message sent to truckers not to come through Atlanta. Clearly, they didn’t heed that. We’ve got to have tougher consequences for truckers that come through at times when GDOT determines it’s not safe and better ways to communicate that message.
The panel formed by the Governor Nathan Deal Monday will come up with a number of other ideas to make things better next time. But understand no plan will be perfect and if Atlanta is hit by a midday weather-event snow, tornado, torrential rain, etc. — traffic will be snarled.
All in all, thankfully, there was minimal loss of life due to accidents and no one died in their cars stuck in traffic and a baby or two was born. Not a bad ending to a terrible day.
