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It's Severe Weather Awareness Week in Virginia

Crews clean up in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday May 1, 2023 the day after a tornado struck the city.
AP
/
Ben Finley
Crews clean up in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday May 1, 2023 the day after a tornado struck the city.

Tuesday morning, Virginia will continue an annual exercise that has been running for decades – the statewide tornado drill.

Jason Elmore is the chief spokesman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and he says the Commonwealth has been participating in the nationwide effort for more than two decades.

“It really began to keep kids in our school systems safe. That was one of the first movements of having these safety drills.”

Elmore says public schools in Virginia have always done fire drills where students go outside – but the tornado drill was different in that school kids would stay inside the building. He adds that the drill has expanded since then.

“To really let everyone across the Commonwealth – and even the nation – on this particular day to be able to practice their emergency plan in the event that there’s a tornado warning in their area – what do they need to do and how do they go about it.”

As far as the drill itself – Elmore says it’ll align with the current, required monthly test of the Emergency Alert System Tuesday at 9:45 AM.

“This isn’t something that is going to make your cell phone randomly go off like it’s an actual emergency – this is just us kind of jumping into the regular, monthly test that’s happening. If you don’t have a weather radio or aren’t listening to your radio, you may not actually hear anything. But what we’re encouraging people to do is at that 9:45 AM [window] to go ahead and start your protocol. If you’re in an office space, have your team, your group, your employees – at 9:45, what are we going to do if a tornado warning hits? Where are we going to go?”

The practice is vitally important – Elmore says – because tornadoes are actually more common in Virginia than most people might think. On average, the Commonwealth typically sees about 20 of them each year.

“We just saw two years ago a significant one in the Virginia Beach area. We also see a lot of tornado warnings happen and it may just impact a wooded area. But we want people to be prepared. That is one of the key things that we do [at the] Virginia Department of Emergency Management – trying to make sure all of our residents are prepared; that you know what to do in the event this happens.”

The tornado drill aligns with Virginia’s “Severe Weather Awareness Week” as well. Each day this week, state officials and partners at the National Weather Service are focusing on a specific topic – from the difference between a watch and warning to outdoor weather safety.

“It also coincides this year,” Elmore says, “it doesn’t happen every year, but this year is also Flood Awareness Week by our Department of Conservation and Recreation – so, we’re going to talk about flooding as well.”

Historically, April is the busiest month for tornadic activity in Virginia – with 160 twisters recorded from 1950 through 2021 – so the drill is getting all of us more weather aware right on schedule. You can register for this year's drill here.

It's also Flood Awareness Week in Virginia...

Roads in the Maryus area of Gloucester, Va., are covered by floodwaters after Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall, bringing rain, damaging winds, and dangerous surges, on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. Maryus is a low-level area with a significant amount of saltwater marshland that's prone to flooding.
AP
/
John C. Clark
Roads in the Maryus area of Gloucester, Va., are covered by floodwaters after Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall, bringing rain, damaging winds, and dangerous surges, on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. Maryus is a low-level area with a significant amount of saltwater marshland that's prone to flooding.

Speaking of Flood Awareness Week – state officials say now is the time to check on your property’s flood risk and ensure you have adequate insurance coverage.

Virginia has a Flood Risk Information System – or VFRIS. It now features an updated user-friendly interface that allows residents to gauge their risk, while also bringing in additional flooding information from federal sources – including the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Most homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies do not cover flood damage, and only three percent of Virginians actually carry flood insurance.

Virginia’s Department of Conservation and Recreation says flooding from Hurricane Helene last year and heavy rains last month show that everyone – including inland communities – should know their risks.

Thanks for checking out this edition of CommonWx — the weather and climate newsletter from Radio IQ. Use this link to get the newsletter sent to your inbox.

Nick Gilmore is a meteorologist, news producer and reporter/anchor for RADIO IQ.