Severe weather can be quite scary. With severe thunderstorms, there’s the threat of heavy rain and damaging winds. Hurricanes provide a similar threat, though much heavier rains and winds. Tornadoes are also a real threat.

Though severe weather doesn’t occur everyday, it’s important to be prepared. Countless advertisements advocate to have an emergency plan and supplies.

It looks like the city and county are taking the same advice geared toward families and individuals and applying it to their daily operations.

City government is currently taking bids for a storm shelter on J.L. Chestnut Boulevard. The shelter is estimated to hold 60 to 70 people.

Perhaps some families have a basement or closet that will work just fine in case of severe weather, but there are thousands in our city that don’t have the resources to survive a massive storm.

There is also a population of homeless in our city that wouldn’t have a place to go in case of severe weather.

Our city has experienced some severe weather in the past year and survived just fine, but it’s always important to plan for a worst case scenario.

The city will pay $30,000 for the shelter, with a $141,000 grant supplementing the purchase. It’s a relatively small investment for a decent amount of safety.

Government should be for the people and by the people. And in this case, Selma is taking a proactive step in ensuring the safety of its residents.