THOMASVILLE — Not unlike a year ago when Hurricane Hermine struck in the Thomasville area, all City of Thomasville eyes are again monitoring an approaching tropical storm. 

Monster storm Hurricane Irma is churning and strengthening in warm Atlantic waters and while her eventual track is still unknown, the city is monitoring the situation and preparing for adverse weather conditions. 

As long as the city’s natural gas supply is working, water will be in water tanks, City Manager/Utilities Superintendent Steve Sykes told city council at a Wednesday workshop.

Water will be available to fill residents’ containers, if necessary.

“Whatever comes out on the weekend, we’re prepared for it,” Sykes said. “ … We’re preparing ourselves, hopefully, for quiet.”

Thomas County and Thomasville City school officials are monitoring the storm.

Sykes said plans include readiness for a scenario in which power could not be restored for two weeks. The situation could result from a category 3 hurricane with a wind speed of 100-plus miles per hour.

“While Irma’s track is still very much up in the air, we are taking the time now to make sure our city crews are ready to respond to any adverse weather conditions we may have for our area,” he said.

“Public works, fire/rescue, police, utility operations — each department is monitoring the weather situation carefully and preparing equipment, vehicles and personnel according to established response plans,” said Sheryl Sealy, city director of marketing. “We are addressing many areas in advance of the storm so that we can be prepared.”

Preparations include:

• Coordinating with Thomas County and Georgia emergency management in storm information

• Discussing mutual-aid agreements with other utility providers for electric restoration efforts

• Clearing out trouble spots in the collection system to ensure the system runs effectively with the anticipated higher water flow 

• Ensuring adequate personnel are on stand-by, and additional personnel are assigned to key city facilities — such as the wastewater treatment plant, fire/rescue, electric operations, public works — to respond quickly to storm damage 

• Cleaning out catch basins, road culverts and storm pipes of leaves, debris and anything that could clog inlets or culverts to ensure water flows properly throughout the city stormwater system

• Inspecting erosion control measures, open excavations and material storage at city construction sites and asking private contractors to do the same

• Ensuring all necessary small equipment — chainsaws, weed eaters — generators and vehicles are inspected and fueled and that an adequate fuel supply is on hand

• Verifying inventory of materials and supplies needed for restoration efforts

• Fully charging all handheld radios, cell phones and other electronic devices and ensuring all internal and external communications protocols are in place

At the very least, Sykes said, rain is expected in the Irma forecast. Residents can assist with storm preparations by making sure that they do not have debris blocking stormwater drainage areas on private property. Residents also can assist by reporting areas that need to be cleared.

Sealy said areas that need to be addressed should be reported by calling 227-7025.

“It’s also important that utility customers understand how to report an outage,” she said. “The best way to report a loss of electric service is by calling 227-5499 and not through social media. If we are experiencing widespread outages, the call may be answered by the auto attendant. For easier reporting, it is a good idea to make sure your telephone number — both cell and home — are on your account.” This can be verified by calling 227-7001 prior to the storm.

The city has invested in an outage management system that assists with monitoring and identifying outages in the electric system. 

“The benefit is that a customer’s telephone number is recognized when calling into our system to report an outage when the telephone number is associated with a utility account,” said Sealy.

Electric customers should also be aware that electric service cannot be restored until any damage is repaired to connections that run from the residence to the utility pole. 

City officials said if the line is down between your home and the utility pole, it will need to be repaired by an appropriately licensed contractor before service can be reconnected.