NEW BLOOMFIELD, Pa. — As the remnants of what was once Hurricane Debby prepare to arrive in Pennsylvania on Friday, rural counties such as Perry County are preparing for anything.
"We've notified all the municipal officials and local emergency management coordinators, like we do in most storm or potential storm events, to be prepared to react to whatever the weather might bring us," said Perry County EMA Director Richard Fultz. "Our response here is to monitor the situation and assist the local municipalities in the event that they are overwhelmed by the circumstances."
Fultz says that responding to severe weather situations can be more difficult for smaller counties like Perry County.
"The significant impact for us is the limited resources that we have within the county," Fultz said. "A lot of the more populated counties with larger towns and cities in them have considerably more resources than we have and considerably more mutual aid."
Despite these challenges, Fultz says Perry County will have plenty of help from its neighbors to bridge the resource gap for its response.
"Sometimes they come from Dauphin County, sometimes they come from Cumberland County or other places, in the event that we might need them," Fultz said. "We do other mutual aid things through the South Central Task Force if necessary, and just try to be as prepared as we can to react to these situations."
The storm is expected to bring downed trees and power lines to the area and has forced disruptions to many events and the closure of attractions such as Hersheypark on Friday.