We've learned many lessons in a year since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans and rumbled through Mississippi.
We've learned, said T. W. Cooper, director of the Greenwood-Leflore Emergency Management Agency, not to become complacent just because an event doesn't occur each year.
Cooper has begun a teaching seminar that helps people prepare themselves in the event of any natural or man-made disaster. His goal is how to help yourself first, when something happens, and how to then help others, who might not know or be able to help themselves.
Last year, Greenwood didn't receive the brunt of Katrina because the city and county were on the west side, which has less wind and rain.
However, the area received hurricane-spawned tornadoes and rain when Hurricane Rita rolled through several weeks later.
Here's the key: Being prepared will prevent injury. "When people feel like they have some control, it tends to keep people calmer about a situation and that tends to have a positive note," Cooper said.
The classes are free and available for the asking, he said. The next scheduled public class is 10 a.m. Saturday at Samuel Chapel United Methodist Church in Itta Bena.
How bad was Katrina, and what could we face again?
Here are a few statistics from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for all of Mississippi: The amount of debris removed so far in Mississippi from the storm so far equals 44,580,290 cubic yards. A cubic yard is three feet long by three feet wide by three feet high.
The amount of debris, if it were asphalt, would pave 2, 814 miles of a four-lane interstate highway. If it represented boxcars, they would stretch from Biloxi to San Francisco.
It's high season now for hurricanes. All emergency preparations should be in place.
Gov. Haley Barbour has launched a campaign called "Stay Alert. Stay Alive" to raise hurricane awareness in the state.
Too many people weren't prepared last year. This time, in the Greenwood area, the components are in place - volunteers, churches, and officials - according to Cooper.
"It's just that they had to be brought back together again."
