“Cellphones are your most valuable resource during severe weather,” Powell said. “Even if you have a flip phone, you can receive the same message. Even if a cellphone service provider goes down, the emergency alert message can still get sent out and received.”
A Dothan native and Marine Corps veteran, Powell has served as Dothan Houston County EMA since July 2023. With 22 years in fire service under his belt and serving at the time as a Fire Department Captain at the time, Powell was officially named the county’s EMA director by the Houston County Commission.
Building a team in the EMA office was his first goal, he said after being named to the top slot. “It’s always important in the fire service to build teams and I feel the same way now. I can come into the office with an objective opinion and form that team.”
Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe said Powell’s experience in dealing with emergencies made him the perfect fit for the job. “He knew what he was talking about, and we felt he had a strong background and management presence about him,” Shoupe said. “You have to be a good manager when managing people, so I think that’s why the commission chose to go in that direction.”
‘How can we do this better?’
“We want to tell people which agency the emergency alert is from, what and where the emergency situation is, what actions people need to take and the expected duration,” Powell said. “It’s important for our message to be brief, clear and packed with information of any kind telling people exactly what to do.”
In December the county enhanced its emergency messaging alert system by partnering with Regroup, which functions somewhat like an Amber Alert, enabling the EMA team to target those in specific areas or groups. The technology allows the EMA to draw targeted sub-groups that include first responders, city, and county and school officials.
“Right now, I have built templates for every school in the city and county, so principals know exactly how much time they have to get the kids in the hallway,” Powell explained. “We had the technology but we’re using it in a different way.”
Dothan Prep tornado
The enhanced system could have helped March 31 last year when an EF-1 tornado hit Dothan Preparatory Academy with minimal time to notify the school of the impending danger, said Powell. “That tornado touched down at 12:31 p.m. We were notified (by the national weather service) at 12:32 p.m. and after traveling 3.1 miles, the tornado dissipated at 12:35 p.m.,” he said. “Typically, we have a 10-to-15-minute head's up but this one was pretty much on the ground when we got notified.
“Even though it was out of our control, it bothered me,” said Powell as he talked about working with school administrators to develop pre-built emergency alert templates for each school and testing them over the summer. “We have to be able to deliver the message faster and we have to direct it to who needs to know.”
The Dothan Houston County EMA has a free interactive mobile app designed to assist the citizens of and visitors to Houston County before, during, and after an emergency or disaster, with features that include how to contact the EMA, how to file damage reports, and community resources that are available.
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