LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Langley Air Force Base has taken steps to ensure Joint Base Langley-Eustis personnel can stay ahead of potential storms. The base was recognized by the National Weather Service as the first military installation in Virginia to receive the "Storm Ready" certification, at a presentation Jan. 23, 2013.
The program encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations, and can even reduce flood insurance rates for those who live in Langley housing, or Bethel Manor.
The certification signifies
"We have taken steps to ensure the Langley community is prepared for any natural disaster," said Senior Airman Evan Bialk,. "It's important to provide the safest setting possible for our fellow Airmen and their loved ones."
To be certified as Storm Ready, the 633rd Emergency Management Office ensured Langley complied with the National Weather Service guidelines, including maintaining a minimum of three ways to disseminate critical information to the community.
Langley currently has four systems in place, including the official JBLE website and Facebook page, command post, AtHoc notification system and official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radios.
The radios are the newest addition to the emergency preparedness plan. They offer instantaneous weather alerts from the National Weather Service in population centers across Langley, alerting the community members of potential danger directly from NOAA and saving precious minutes in a time of emergency.
The program also requires all dispatchers to attend a NWS class that teaches emergency personnel operating procedures for different weather scenarios and potential dangers in the local area.
The Emergency Management Office has also established places for Langley emergency responders to attend Skywarn Weather Spotters training.
Skywarn is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters, who help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather and natural disasters to the National Weather Service.
Natural disasters cause an average of more than $14 billion in damages and 500 deaths annually, affecting the lives of nearly 27 million people. Virginia's coastal and eastern regions are especially at risk for a major storm, although the impacts from disasters can affect any part of the state.
With nearly 90 percent of all presidentially-declared disasters weather related, Skywarn offers Langley Airmen another avenue to prevent potential damages and loss of life.
"We always want to go above and beyond for our Airmen," said Bialk. "We want to take every additional step we can take to provide safety for our community."