Imagine you’re safe in your tornado shelter after a storm has hit, but your home has been destroyed and your shelter is buried beneath debris. How would someone know you were there? How would you get out?

To ensure this scenario does not happen, the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has implemented a county-wide Storm Shelter Registry program. County and city officials are encouraging residents to register their shelters and make preparations for severe weather.

EMA Director Mac Purdy said the registry will help emergency agencies throughout the county locate victims when they respond to areas that have been affected by severe weather. “The master registry will allow us to identify structures with storm shelters in a storm’s path,” said Purdy. “While all damaged structures are searched, this storm shelter list will assist emergency responders as they conduct search and rescue operations, expediting the accountability process.”

Purdy said the Williamson County EMA launched the program in cooperation with the Brentwood and Franklin Fire Departments, in response to the growing number of households that are installing tornado shelters in Williamson County.

Purdy said the program is free and completely voluntary, but urges everyone who lives in Williamson County and has a storm shelter to register. He said, “With this information, responders will know where to search within your home if it is damaged by a storm.”

For more information, please visit http://inigo.williamson-tn.org/storm_shelter or follow the link on the Franklin Fire Department’s home page at www.franklintn.gov/fire.