Walker County ready for storm
Walker County crews were cleaning up Friday following severe weather that rolled through the region Thursday.
In preparation for the severe weather, the county government canceled the Thursday evening Board of Commissioners meeting and the Planning Commission’s work session, closed its offices for non-essential workers at 3 p.m., and opened four shelters for those who needed a safe place to stay during the storms.
“We had a few downed trees and some minor damage to some storm water drainage culverts from flooding, but thankfully nothing major,” said Joe Legge, Walker County public relations director. “We’ll be assessing the culverts
over the next several days.”
Many departments “staffed up” to prepare to respond to the storm, including the Road Department, Fire Department and 911 Center, Legge said. The Road Department also spent the previous week cleaning out culverts to improve water flow.
While the county experienced some flash flooding as predicted, the water subsided before the county
had to close any roads, he explained.
“We had 55 people find a safe place to wait out the storms in one of the four shelters, including some Catoosa County residents,” Legge said. “The shelters had bottled water and light snacks. Some locations also had televisions to watch local news and weather.”
The Walker County Civic Center and Ag Center, Rock Spring; Cedar Grove Community Center, Chickamauga; Armuchee Valley Community Center, LaFayette; and Chattanooga Valley Church
of the Nazarene, Flintstone, served as shelters. The Ag Center was equipped to accommodate crated pets.
“Our Animal Shelter staff provided care for pets at the Ag Center,” he said. “We had seven dogs brought in by folks sheltering at the Civic Center.”
Residents were encouraged to bring bed linens, pillows and personal hygiene kits or toiletries with them to a shelter to make their stay more comfortable. They observed social distancing and were advised of CDC guidelines for mask usage.