Norwich earns "Storm Ready" designation

NORWICH – The City of Norwich has been a certified StormReady community since 2001. At Tuesday night’s Common Council meeting, that certificate was renewed for another three years, and the City of Norwich was recognized for their continuing efforts in this field.

“I’m here to recognize the City of Norwich for their great work in emergency management and for protecting the lives of the citizens,” said Dave Nicosia from the National Weather Service. Norwich was the first community in the state to be declared StormReady in 2001, and to maintain their StormReady certificate and increase the capacity to respond in a disaster, Nicosia said. “Our StormReady designation is an especially important accomplishment since the City of Norwich has a long history of severe weather, especially flooding,” said Emergency Management Officer A. Wesley Jones.

Nicosia gave Jones a lot of credit for his work during the flooding of late June. “Emergency Management in the city has done a tremendous job,” Nicosia said. He pointed out that the city had no loss of life during the flooding of late June. Nicosia looked at comparable floods with deaths of 40 to 50 people. “Communities have far fewer fatalities and lower property damage if they plan for disasters that potentially threaten them,” Nicosia said.