On Tornado Anniversary, A More Prepared Town

"Now, they know who to call and how to do it to get the word out," Graves said.

Charles and its neighbors have also joined a widespread move to adopt the National Incident Management System, a formal plan to help jurisdictions work together to respond to a disaster.

"There's now a standardized system for these unusually large events," said Alex Naar, Charles's director of emergency services, adding that repeated practice has helped prepare the county for another tornado.

But there are some lessons that can be learned only through experience, Gittings said. The tornado six years ago taught him the importance of removing debris from drains to prevent flooding, and the care required to handle damaged propane tanks, which can become "little bombs" in a pile of wreckage, he said. He also gained extensive familiarity with the paperwork required to obtain disaster reimbursements from the state and federal government, he said.

"God forbid, if something like that should happen again, I think our response would be much improved," Gittings said. "Now it is a big deal. We do follow it closely, and we respond accordingly."

Staff writer Megan Greenwell contributed to this report.