Accomack emergency managers brief supervisors on Hurricane Aaron response, alerting and sheltering plans

Charles Pruitt, director of public safety and the county’s emergency management coordinator, and Sarah McCliston, deputy emergency management coordinator, briefed the Accomack County Board of Supervisors on preparations for Hurricane Aaron and on the county’s emergency operations and public-alerting systems.

Pruitt said the National Weather Service placed Accomack County under a tropical storm warning and that the county should begin to see tropical-storm-force gusts of up to about 45 mph between roughly 8 p.m. and midnight. He said gusty conditions and tidal surge could continue for up to 72 hours and that tidal flooding and coastal erosion are expected, with the lower Eastern Shore and Northampton County likely to see the most flooding. "As of today, the governor has not declared a state emergency," Pruitt said; he added the county will request state resources through normal situational-report (sitrep) procedures if needed.

McCliston walked supervisors through the county’s planning documents and communications tools. She summarized the county’s hazard-mitigation plan, continuity-of-operations plan, and the emergency operations plan and its annexes for sheltering, evacuation, radiological response, debris removal and commodity-distribution points. She explained the sequence of alerts: initial wireless emergency alerts originate with the National Weather Service, and the county’s CodeRed/reverse-911 system is a separate, non-immediate platform that requires staff to log in, craft messages and select target areas. McCliston emphasized that residents should sign up for CodeRed and described other communication channels the county uses, including social media, local radio partner WESR and the Eastern Shore Amateur Radio Club as a backup in shelters.

On sheltering and logistics, McCliston said the county has six designated shelters and will open sites "as needs dictate," with the ability to request staff or resources through WebEOC. She explained prestaging supplies and the use of cut-and-toss crews to clear roads needed for response operations. She said damage assessment is led by building and zoning staff to document losses for potential FEMA assistance.

Supervisors asked procedural questions about incident command and about availability of the county’s emergency operations plan. McCliston confirmed the EOP is available on the county website and said incident command is structured as a unified command determined at activation. Supervisor Parks recommended work on more localized alerting methods for exposed neighborhoods.

Why it matters: The briefing clarified how warnings reach residents, emphasized the county’s operational readiness for sheltering and damage assessment, and flagged that coastal flooding and tidal surge are the likely hazards from Aaron.