Tornado Warnings Get Scary to Save Lives

It is an unfortunate reality that when people are exposed to near constant tornado warnings, they begin to ignore them over time. If every warning is the same, and a majority of storms never materialize as predicted, then it becomes difficult for residents to decide on a course of action to protect themselves.

To combat this problem, five weather offices in Kansas and Missouri will be testing a new weather warning system that uses vivid language to describe the threat such as “mass devastation,”  “catastrophic” and “unsurvivable.” These new warnings are designed to better communicate the dangers of an approaching storm.

The new test system will have two tiers of warnings for thunderstorms and three tiers for tornadoes, made possible through a new type of Doppler radar called dual polarization, which measures both horizontal and vertical properties of a storm and helps to gauge its destructive tendencies. Tests will continue through the fall while a research team in North Carolina will analyze the results and help the weather service decide whether to expand the new warnings to other parts of the country.

According to a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, a new warning could look like this: “THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO WITH COMPLETE DEVASTATION LIKELY. … SEEK SHELTER NOW! … MOBILE HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS WILL OFFER NO SHELTER FROM THIS TORNADO — ABANDON THEM IMMEDIATELY.”

The new warnings will be issued to local radio and television stations, local emergency management personnel who activate sirens and dispatch emergency services, and the National Weather Service radio. The hope is that these strongly worded warnings will reach those who tend to wait for a tornado siren before seeking shelter.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/new-tornado-warnings_n_1393994.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/us-usa-tornado-warnings-idUSBRE8300JX20120402

Rapid Notify 2011 – A Retrospective

On behalf of our entire team, I want to take this opportunity to wish all our valued clients a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year, and to thank you for giving our team at Rapid notify the opportunity to serve your Mass Notification needs over this past year.

2011 was an exciting year for Rapid Notify.  We have implemented a number of recent system enhancements and exciting new options that you may not be aware of.

Our brand new Automated Severe Weather Warnings option delivers precision-targeted alert notifications via SMS Text and/or email just moments after being issued by the National Weather Service.

The new optional Inbound 800 Number feature provides customers a dedicated 800 number for callers to hear your latest recorded message.

SMS Text Messaging is now fully enabled for all of our Canadian customers. Contact us for current pricing.

Rapid Notify now offers you the ability to have an Alert Summary PDF and CSV file sent immediately upon completion of an alert process to the email address you specify. When setting up a New Alert, look for the field just below the Alert Description to enter an email address for delivery of the completion report.

Additional system enhancements include:

• Customizable reply-to email address for email alert responses
• Up to three phone numbers for a single contact record
• The addition of a  “last modified” date to lists
• Faster alert completion process with reduced message repeating and re-tries
• The “re-send” option allows you to send the same alert or a new message to successful deliveries, failed deliveries, or both
• Create new messages and contact lists on the fly during the alert creation process
• Self-Registrants can now use the same login credentials for multiple customer self-registration lists

As an added measure of security and assurance, Rapid Notify customer service can not make changes to user roles or reset passwords without prior authorization from the Primary Point of Contact for a customer account. As a reminder, those with the user role of Customer Administrator have the ability to manage user roles and passwords from their login accounts.

Look for more exciting enhancements in the future.  In the meantime, please let us know of any features or options that interest you.

Looking forward to 2012!

Steve Sipe

President, Rapid Notify, Inc.

An Emergency Plan is Not Optional

High winds toppled an outdoor stage at the Indiana State Fair, killing seven people and injuring dozens. Unfortunately the fair’s severe weather emergency plan consisted of a single page and did not give specific instructions for possible evacuations.

The scaffolding collapsed just minutes after authorities had taken the stage to warn the audience of an approaching storm. The National Weather Service estimated winds of 60 mph to 70 mph were raking the area when the incident occurred.

The single page was only one part of an overall emergency plan, but it did not contain specific policies regarding stage construction and other weather-related guidelines. The emergency plan did not list any single person to coordinate decisions on evacuations.

The severe weather page contained specific wording for announcements to be made when severe weather threatens and when the “all clear” is given. Wording to advise people to move away from tents into buildings did not specify which ones.

The Indiana State fair emergency plan was created by state police, approved by fair officials and circulated to local emergency management officials before the fair opened.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2089154,00.html

Download a Sample Emergency Plan from FEMA