Corey Kemp, who started as Bulloch County's new Emergency Management Agency director in mid-April, hasn't had to activate the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, yet with a hurricane approaching, but he has made preparations and encourages area residents to do so.

Kemp's office is in the building that houses the county EOC, in front of the Sheriff's Office. 

Officially, the Atlantic Hurricane Season lasts from June 1 through Nov. 30, but the majority of the storms usually appear from late August through October. However, this season has already brought one major hurricane, Hurricane Beryl, which peaked as a top-strength Category 5, brought catastrophic damage to a few Caribbean islands as a Category 4, struck Mexico as a Category 3 and then turned north into Texas, where it weakened but still caused flooding, wind damage and more deaths.

As of Monday, the National Hurricane Center's online map showed zero current tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic, but that probably won't last long if the long-range predictions were right.

"If you look at Colorado State (University)'s assessments and NOAA's or the Hurricane Center's, everybody is screaming that it's going to be a pretty active season," Kemp said last week. "Not too long ago they issued the most aggressive hurricane prediction ever. … The numbers that they chose were higher than they have ever done since they have been predicting how many large weather events we will have."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, through its National Weather Service, in May predicted that this season is likely to bring 17 to 25 named storms originating from the Atlantic basin. Named storms are those with winds of 39 mph or higher, and the forecast suggested that 13 are likely to become hurricanes, with winds 74 mph or higher, including four to seven "major hurricanes" with winds above 110 mph and thus qualifying as Category 3 (111–130 mph), 4 (131–155 mph) or 5 (155+ mph).

Long-range weather forecasts are always hedged bets, and the meteorologists and statisticians gave these ranges a confidence level of 70%, according to a May 23 National Weather Service release. But the agency stated the likelihood of the 2024 season producing an above-normal number of storms as 85%.

Kemp's new role

In past storm seasons it was Ted Wynn, who served both as Bulloch County's Public Safety Division director and Emergency Management Agency, or EMA, director, who would send out alerts and, when hurricanes and tropic storms approached the area, activate the EOC and call together a mass planning meeting with representatives from county, city and state agencies, the university and schools, power companies and volunteer groups.

Before Wynn's retirement took effect on Jan. 31, the two jobs were separated and Randy Tillman, previously warden of Bulloch County Correctional Institution, was promoted to be the county's new public safety director.

Then Kemp was hired, with input from Wynn on the recommendation from Tillman and County Manager Tom Couch to the Board of Commissioners, to be the EMA director. A Bulloch resident since 2000, he brings state-agency experience from his previous four years with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and for almost 17 years before that was an EMT with the Bulloch County Emergency Medical Service.

With GEMA, Kemp served as a risk reduction specialist in the Hazard Mitigation Division. Based at an office in Georgia Southern University's Military Science Building, he worked with city and county governments on plans and assistance for cleaning up after disasters and mitigating hazards to rebuild.

Landing in his new job as county EMA director, Kemp in early June took part in a "meet and greet" with representatives of "pretty much all the essential functions of Bulloch County," he said. Personnel from agencies such as the Sheriff's Office, the Bulloch County Fire Department, county Public Works and the city of Statesboro's parallel agencies, as well as organizations such as the Red Cross, VOAD, or Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters, and East Georgia Regional Medical Center attended the event in the EOC.

These agencies, and some other organizations such as electric utilities and county Animal Services, would be involved in planning when the EOC is activated as a storm approaches.

A small tropical storm would likely bring "a low-level activation" with a planning meeting of key personnel in the county EOC, and then "very light staff" to keep it open, Kemp said. He would activate it in consultation with the county manager and commission chairman for a local emergency declaration.

A regional EOC

But the approach of a major hurricane, requiring evacuation of Georgia's coastal counties, could prompt a move to a regional EOC, in the GS Military Science Building where Kemp previously worked. It is, he notes, "a more robust building."

"But we would not be the only ones in there," he said. "Chatham County (EMA) will move from Savannah to there, the Coast Guard will move there, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, so we will not be the only entity in the building."

Bulloch County is far enough from the coast that it would probably not be subject to mandatory evacuation even for a major storm, he said. It also isn't a county where evacuees from the coast are advised to take shelter.

"Evacuation routes run through Bulloch County, but we're not a hosting county," Kemp said. "So if you leave, like, Savannah looking for somewhere to stay, we're not going to tell you not to come to Bulloch County, but we're going to encourage you to keep moving, because most of the coastal counties that are evacuation counties have sister counties set up for them to evacuate to."

For example, Savannah and Chatham County's evacuation destination sister county is Macon-Bibb. Hinesville and Liberty County's is Baldwin County, at Milledgeville.

Shelters that would be opened in Bulloch County would mainly be for Bulloch residents, such as those who are advised to evacuate flood-prone areas and mobile homes, or after a storm for residents whose homes have been damaged.

"If you live in a manufactured home, if there's a pretty bad storm coming, please do not stay in the mobile home, please go to a hotel," Kemp said. "If you live in flood-prone areas, go ahead and leave. Otherwise, pack for an additional week if you want to stay home. We know certain parts of Bulloch County flood."

How to prepare

Still, most people in Bulloch County would probably "hunker down," he said, or in other words, shelter in place.

"So … let your neighbors know that you're hunkering down, let your family know that you're going to stay," Kemp advises. "Then … make sure that you have fuel for generators, make sure you have a brand-new (carbon monoxide) detector or make sure you change the batteries, and make sure your generators stay outside."

Also, when time permits, clear your yard of things such as furniture and trampolines that can become flying projectiles.

"Make sure you have emergency kits that include things like important documents and medications; make sure that you charge your devices because you probably will lose power," he said. "In case your home gets damaged, make sure you know where the shelters are, so when the roads are clear enough you can go to a shelter."

He and the county staff post advisories and information such as shelter locations on the "Bulloch County Public Safety and EMA" Facebook page and send out alerts via CodeRED. Kemp advises downloading the CodeRED app and also iNWS to your cellphone now, as part of your preparations for future storms.

CodeRed is an emergency alert system to which Bulloch County and the city of Statesboro subscribe. A shortened link to the signup page is https://bit.ly/2zkAdOl.

And iNWS is "Interactive NWS," a text message and e-mail alerts system provided by the National Weather Service. Go to https://inws.ncep.noaa.gov/ to sign up.

Enough food, water, medications and other needs for three days are a good start for an emergency kit for home, "unless you live in one of those areas, like, along the river, or a dirt road where you know you may be trapped. Then pack for a little bit longer," said Kemp.

For detailed information on a disaster plan and emergency kit for your family, see https://gema.georgia.gov/plan-prepare/ready-georgia.