NATCHEZ — Two weeks from today, Adams County will host a training course to prepare locals for emergency scenarios by taking “the whole community approach.”

The county’s emergency management agency will provide a course that invites “key leaders, local business owners, Realtors, lawyers, school officials and local bankers to understand the importance of working together during disasters.”

From 10 a.m. to noon on March 23, at the Adams County Safe Room on Liberty Road organizers will inform these key stakeholders on how to respond were an emergency to show up in their backyard.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, which designed the course, will pioneer the program in Adams County, Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford said Thursday during an Adams County Board of Supervisors meeting.

“This is the first time that MEMA has put a class like this together,” Bradford said. “We’ll kind of be like the test county.”

The course will contain information about various topics attendants would need to know in case of a disaster, including Small Business Administration loans, individual and public assistance, resource procurement and details people would need to complete MEMA disaster reports. Other insights will include information about how the county prepares for emergency situations and what goes into recovery efforts for the community.

“The reason for this course is a lot of times during emergencies, a lot of times when people come together, it’s the first time they needed each other — when something (bad) happens,” Bradford said. “We’re trying to get everybody together within the community to know where do we go to get stuff, how do we react, how do we respond before something gets here.”

Limited seating will be available for the class, and Bradford requested that willing participants call 601-442-7021 or email rbradford@adamscountyms.gov to sign up.