Channel 5 meteorologist Heather Mathis spent years researching and filing a series of reports on the extreme lack of shelters that were open publicly across Middle Tennessee during storms. What she found out is that churches and other organizations didn’t feel they could open due to liability concerns.
The need was great but the shelters were few. We have all heard of Tornado Alley in the west and mid-west but we live in what is now known in meteorological circles as Dixie Alley comprised mostly of parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Our region has become as or more deadly than our neighbors to the west. Why, you might ask? There are several reasons. In those areas to the west most are in relatively open, flat terrains. You can often see a tornado or super cell from miles away. The area is usually more sparsely populated and a high percentage of people have a storm shelter. Where we live it is much different. We live in a much more densely populated area and in Tennessee as well as other neighboring states there are many more mobile and manufactured homes that are extremely vulnerable to high wind and tornadic events. We have a very hilly terrain. Most of our severe storms are along or ahead of a frontal boundary instead of super cells. They are usually rain wrapped and largely nocturnal in nature. All of this makes them very hard to see until they are on top of you. We have been very blessed in Marshall County to not have any more damage than we have. A lot of our neighbors have not been as fortunate.
In Heathers’ quest to find a way to have more shelters available and perhaps save lives in doing so she found a partner in State Representative Jason Powell and they worked to create the “Safer Places Bill”, which was signed into law in April of 2023. This came before our state legislature as HB1080/SB1457. It passed both houses unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Lee. This law clarifies that any religious, civic, or charitable organization that opens its doors to the public from adverse weather is not liable for loss, damages, injury, or death resulting from providing that shelter thereby removing the liability.
So what is the Safe Places Program? For those wishing to participate it provides an easily accessible list of open shelters for those living in vulnerable housing. There will be a list or scroll like the Snow Watch report for school closings. It will list openings, addresses, hours of operation, and whether or not they would have pet friendly status.
These are not long term shelters. They are only a place for people to come and sit during the duration of the storm threat. Sometimes you have those who are worried about the safety of their housing and sometimes just those who are afraid of being alone during a storm. If you choose to participate the first step is to get registered and then meet with emergency management and possibly National Weather service personnel to look at you location and determine if your facility is safe and the best area of the building for people to shelter. The time of having you doors open is usually fairly short. All you have to do is keep a sign in sheet as a record of whom and how many people utilize your facility as a safe space.
When hazardous weather is approaching the Office of Emergency Management will call your contact person or persons and inform them of the estimated storm arrival time and what time the shelter should open to prevent people from trying to get there when they should already be taking cover from the storm. If your facility is available they will then provide to Channel 5 and other media that the location is open and at what time. When the threat has passed they will notify you and also notify media that the shelter is closing.
We currently have three churches in the county that have been doing this for several years, but that is nowhere near enough. You don’t want people driving 10-20 minutes to get to a shelter during a storm. We need places located throughout the county.
Heather recently met with around 25 leaders from various churches at the Marshall County Emergency Operations Center to do a presentation on this most important endeavor. There are others that we were unable to contact or that had other obligations and could not attend. If your group is interested in participating or perhaps in providing a temporary (again very short term) warming or cooling station as we have recently seen the need for please contact the Office of Emergency Management at (931) 359-5810. We can set up a meeting to answer any questions you might have either at your place or ours.
This is a way that you can provide an invaluable service to your area. Thankfully, these events don’t occur very often and providing what could easily be a life saving service requires very little time and no cost, just concern for your neighbors.
