Numerous Emergency Personnel in Lawrence County Helped the Community to Stay Safe Over the Weekend

Numerous public service agencies came together to serve Lawrence County residents on March 15th, 2025, when a major tornado outbreak impacted a large area in the Midwest and Southern US. Lawrence County experienced high winds in the predawn hours on Saturday with widespread flooding on Saturday afternoon and evening. The county received minimal wind and flood damage during the outbreak which caused major destruction and fatalities in several states including Mississippi and Alabama. Lawrence County emergency personnel were well prepared for the event. Early in the week, the National Weather Service and locally owned Tennessee Valley Weather Channel had forecast a moderate risk for damaging winds, large hail, a few strong tornadoes, and flash flooding for Lawrence and surrounding counties. On Friday afternoon, the Lawrenceburg / Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) organized a weather event briefing which included presentations from Ben Luna and Fred Gossage from Tennessee Valley Weather plus a discussion on communication and other procedures that would be employed if recovery operations were needed. These preparations paid off when heavy rain caused flash flooding across the county resulting in high water blocking many roads and serious road damage in some areas. Personnel from Lawrence County Fire and Rescue responded when several vehicles were stranded on flooded roadways and at least three swift water rescues were performed. Crews from the Lawrence County Highway Department & Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) cleared debris that was blocking roads and the Lawrenceburg Utility System responded to power outages that affected over 1,000 customers. Law enforcement personnel from the Sheriff’s Department, City Police, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol provided security and traffic control. EMA’s Emergency Operations Center was activated and several local churches were prepared to open shelters which fortunately were not needed. EMA Director Shelton Barnett stated “Lawrence County was extremely lucky that tornadoes and damaging winds remained mostly south of our area. Nevertheless, local agencies were prepared to respond and did an outstanding job when afternoon and evening flooding occurred. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and emergency personnel in communities that were more seriously affected”. Barnett also observed that retention ponds and a high-capacity drainage channel constructed following the great flood of 1998 minimized flooding in the city of Lawrenceburg. Thank you to all EMA and numerous emergency personnel of Lawrence County for doing an amazing job!