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Resident urges Weatherford to review emergency communications after recent tornado and hail
Summary
A Weatherford resident and emergency-management professional told the city council he observed "a lack of communication" from local emergency agencies during a recent tornado and severe hailstorm and urged the council to identify and address shortfalls in emergency messaging to residents.
During the meeting's public comment period, resident Clint Miller told the Weatherford City Council that recent severe weather exposed shortcomings in the city's emergency communications.
"In the last 2 months, we've had an unprecedented amount of severe weather for the city," Miller said, adding that his home sustained direct impact from a hailstorm and that the area experienced a low-end tornado. Miller identified himself as an emergency management professional and said he had served as an EOC manager for the U.S. Navy and holds a degree in emergency administration and planning from the University of North Texas.
Miller described online misinformation and a lack of coordinated communication from the city's police, fire and emergency management offices during the events. "I noticed a lack of communication from police, fire, and the emergency management office of Weatherford," Miller said. "I saw a startling number of misinformation or just bad information that was ... online." He urged the council to "look into identifying these shortfalls in communications," especially to help residents who do not have family nearby keep loved ones informed during extreme weather.
Council did not take action in response to Miller's remarks during the meeting. The comment was entered under the council's "comments on non-agenda items" portion of the agenda. Miller said he was not placing blame but wanted to flag a deficiency for staff and council to examine.
