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By ROBERT MAHLBACHER
Rappahannock N«vi
Contributf nf Writer
The Rappahannock County Office of Emergency and Energy Services (OEES), in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and various state agencies, continually strives to advise the public, through its disaster preparedness program, of what to do when severe storms threaten.
It is hoped that his program will eliminate problems here that occurred this past March in North and South Carolina. FEMA investigators recently have concluded that the tornadoes that struck these two states could have been less costly had there been adequate warning and public knowledge about tornadoes’ destructive power. The storm destroyed almost 700 homes and damaged at least 180 more. Sixty-two persons were killed and over 800 peoples were injured. About 3,000 people were left homeless. We are fortunate that the storm merely grazed Virginia’s southern boundary, with only minimum damage occurring.
Rappahannock County’s most tragic tornado occurred on May 2, 1929 when ' it struck Woodville and other areas of the county. The storm demolished two churches, a school and a number of residences. Several people were injured and three persons killed. Is there a possibility of a recurrence? Accurate predictions are impossible but NOAA’s statistics show that Virginia averages six tornadoes and one tornado-related death each year.
The Violent Storm
Our last article on disaster preparedness concerned “Surviving Winter Storms,” and now, with the passing of winter, we must ready ourselves for nature’s most violent storm— the tornado.
A tornado, by definition, is a violently rotating column of air in contact with the .ground. The air. column, may be seen when it con
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