MARSHALL, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Emergency Management were among 34 organizations that took part in a tabletop exercise on Thursday at the Marshall Regional Law Enforcement Center to explore how local organizations would come together to handle a community-wide emergency.
By walking through a hypothetical scenario, the organizations were able to identify gaps and needs for emergency response in Calhoun County to ensure that if a real emergency hits, response can be more efficient.
The event was hosted by Emergency Management Coordinators Lt. Chris Young from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and Jared Hall from the Battle Creek Police Department.
The exercise scenario was an EF5 tornado that touched down on the west side of M-66 and Beckley Road and traveled 18 miles through the City of Marshall near 24 Mile Rd and Michigan Avenue.
Participants analyzed how they would respond to the situation when there was just a tornado watch and warning, then discussed how to handle response after the tornado touched down in multiple cities.
Calhoun County’s G.I.S. Department estimated a tornado of this size could cause over $574 million in damage while leveling over 1,700 residential buildings and over 600 commercial buildings.
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