GHENT, WV (WVNS) – As Severe Weather Awareness Week continues, our StormTracker 59 team is working hard to communicate the importance of severe weather-related topics to our viewers.

However, there are already programs in place to make sure you are weather aware.

That is exactly what the Weather-Ready Nation Program does.

With help from the National Weather Service, the program looks to help reduce the impact from severe weather using advanced action. These impacts can include flooding, tornadoes and even droughts.

According to Tony Edwards, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Charleston office, the program is a team effort and one where coordination is key.

“Getting that message out, getting folks more prepared. We’ve already lost somebody in this state this year due to drowning from flooding. That’s the big issue, we need to get more people educated on the dangers of flooding. And it’s more than us doing it as a federal agency; it takes the community” Edwards said.

The program has remained strong for over a decade.