Severe Weather in the Midwest and Southeast: ALAN Update

SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025

ALAN Friends:

By now you’ve probably seen the drone footage and read about the massive destruction left across the Midwest and Southeast as a result of this past weekend’s tornadoes. We mourn alongside those who’ve lost friends, family, and co-workers, homes and business locations to these events – and we are determined to do everything in our power to help.

In response, ALAN has activated to support tornado survivors via our network of non-profit partners.

As these partners assess what is needed in the affected areas, we expect them to request various forms of donated logistics assistance from ALAN, including transportation, warehousing, and material handling. So please, stay in touch with us often over the next few days and weeks, because your supply chain help may be urgently needed.

Meanwhile, here are a few quick updates.

WHAT ALAN IS DOING FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND TORNADO RESPONSE

We’re currently coordinating with our non-profit partners via daily conference calls that are being hosted by state VOADs (Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster). During these calls, we’re getting key updates about which humanitarian services are most needed – and what kinds of specific challenges that first responders, rescuers and area nonprofits are facing.  We are sharing information from those calls with our partners in the non-profit, government, and business community so that they, too, can be working with the latest, most accurate information.

We are also in the process of updating the “Tornado/Hurricane Information” portion of our Disaster Micro-site to include some resources such as state emergency actions and transportation waivers for businesses or individuals who have been affected by these tornadoes – and who might be in need of assistance.  We’ve included a few those resources at the end of this post, and we encourage you to pass along these links to anyone you think might find them useful.

And of course, we are preparing to fill logistics requests.  There are no active requests for our services yet, which is not unusual, because things are still very much in the search and rescue phase and most nonprofits are still assessing what’s most needed.  However we expect that situation to change rapidly in the next 48 – 72 hours – which is where you come in.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

WHAT NOT TO DO

On a final note please don’t self deploy to a tornado-impacted area – or organize a product collection drive to help tornado survivors.

Although the intention behind these efforts is good, they  often create more challenges than they solve, including getting in the way of rescue efforts.  So please don’t add to an already difficult situation. If you truly wish to help, send funds. Cash donations allow nonprofits to buy what they need, when and where they need it, and that will help survivors faster.

On behalf of all of us at ALAN, thank you for being part of our support system. We truly appreciate each and every one of you, and we are grateful to have you in our corner.

Kathy

SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION REPORT

March 18, 2025

ALAN is committed to providing information and resources to our partners as disasters happen through a weekly Situational Report (SitRep) or when warranted a more frequent communication.

STATE EMERGENCY ACTIONS

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION WAIVERS

Title: Oklahoma Governor issued Executive Order 2025-06 declaring a state of emergency

Effective: 03/17/25 | Expires on: 04/17/25

Description: Pursuant to 49 CFR 390.23 due to wildfires and straight-line winds, exemption from Parts 390 through 399 of Title 49 for weight and size requirements, and cost and fees for permits, of oversized vehicles whose sole purpose is transportation of materials and supplies used in emergency relief and power restoration; and relief from requirements for licensing/operating authority as required by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and licensing/registration Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Title: Arkansas Governor issued Executive Order 25-03

Effective: 03/15/25 | Expires on: 03/29/25

Description: Pursuant to 49 CFR 390.23, waiver of regulations under CFR 395 for hours of service as it relates to the provision of emergency-or disaster-related materials, supplies, good and services

Title: Alabama Governor issued Proclamation declaring a State of Emergency

Effective: 03/14/25 | Expires on: 03/28/25

Description: Pursuant to 49 CFR 390.23, waiver of regulations under CFR 395 and 395.5 so long as the motor carrier or driver is providing direct assistance in response to the declared emergency; the executive order does not authorize size and weight restrictions.

CURFEWS

(NOTE: additional state resources will be added as needed)

Alabama Resources

• Disaster Response: Alabama Emergency Management Agency
• Traffic Updates: Algo Traffic Status
• Utilities: Alabama Power Outage Map

Arkansas Resources

• Disaster Response: Alabama Emergency Management Agency
• Traffic Updates: iDriveArkansas
• Utilities: Arkansas Entergy Outage Map

 Georgia Resources

• Disaster Response: Georgia Emergency Management Agency
• Traffic Updates: GDOT 511
• Utilities: Georgia Power Outage Map

Mississippi Resources

• Disaster Response: Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
• Traffic Updates: MDOT Traffic
• Utilities: Mississippi Power Outage Map 

Missouri Resources

• Disaster Response: Missouri Department of Emergency Management
• Traffic Updates: Missouri Traveler Map
• Utilities: Association of Missouri Electric Coop Outage Map

Oklahoma Resources

• Disaster Response: Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management
• Traffic Updates: Oklahoma Traffic Conditions
• Utilities: Public Service Company of Oklahoma Outage Map