Severe Weather Alerting: Ask an Expert
By Stephanie Osorno, Marketing Copywriter at Alertus Technologies
When minutes matter, we notify in seconds—that’s been Alertus’ motto and driving force ever since the company was developed nearly 20 years ago in the wake of a severe weather tragedy.
Alertus CEO, Jason Volk, was a student at the University of Maryland in 2001 when a tornado struck the campus. As a result of having no warning about the tornado, two students lost their lives, and dozens of others suffered injuries. Amid the aftermath, Jason realized there was a crucial need for enhanced and innovative critical alerting. He then dedicated himself to creating an emergency mass notification system that could reach everyone, everywhere, when it matters the most.
In this blog, we feature Tim Pridemore, Emergency Management Coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the keynote speaker for our recent webinar on severe weather alerting: Automated Alerting for Severe Weather Threats. He offers his expertise on the importance of having a comprehensive mass notification solution like the Alertus System to better prepare for and respond to severe weather.
Name: K. Tim Pridemore
Title: Emergency Management Coordinator
School: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
What does it mean to be an emergency management coordinator? Could you give us a little insight into your role at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga?
When people ask, “What do you do?,” I tell them I am a professional paranoid. I tell them that my job is to figure out what can go wrong, what we should do about it, and then make sure we have the training and resources to do that.
In addition to my role in the planning and operations functions, I am the EMAP Accreditation Manager and the guy who manages our public safety radio systems, alerting system infrastructure, and EOC equipment.
What are the benefits of implementing Mass Notification system (MNS) technology to prepare for severe weather? Why isn’t it enough to just watch the news or get standard weather alerts on your phone?
The key benefit is that it allows you to drive the information flow to your stakeholders rather than having them rely on general information they get from the media. We tell people that while we know what Channel 9 says about the snow storm, they have 180 seconds to give a 24 hour forecast for 7,500 square miles. We are concerned with what will happen within one square mile at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. That is the information our stakeholders want and what our MNS allows us to give to them.
As for the limitation of standard wide-area alerts, I always use the following example. If your phone says there is a tornado warning, that means it is somewhere in the county and you may be in danger. If you see a UTC-ALERT through the Alertus System and it says tornado warning, that means a tornado is about to hit the campus. An effective MNS gives you very targeted information when you need it.
Could you give us an example of how your school uses Alertus tools specifically for severe weather preparation?
The Alertus System is very effective in allowing us to push information to keep people safe without disrupting operations. We do not use SMS text messages unless we need people to take immediate action. Alertus allows us to post a safety message at the exit of every building without the need to interrupt operations.
How can organizations go about putting an effective emergency notification process in place when it comes to severe weather situations?
There are a number of components to address:
Policy decisions such as what constitutes “severe weather”
Operational decisions, including how monitoring is conducted and who has the authority to send a message under what circumstances.
Exactly what will the message say?
The process must include multiple predetermined pathways as well. And finally, the system must be tied to general safety training and education for your audience so that you can get them to respond appropriately when trouble comes.
As an emergency management coordinator, can you explain why implementing MNS technology is so crucial for emergency preparedness?
It really comes down to one question: When something goes wrong, do you really want your stakeholders going into the situation with no idea on what is happening? Questions will have to be answered, and getting those answers takes time. Time spent during the planning and training process is time you don’t have to spend during the event.
Anyone who tells you, “No two emergencies are alike,” has no credibility at all. While there are always differences, such as date, time, people involved, etc., there are hazard dependent themes which are common each time an emergency occurs. If that were not the case, a dozen people off of the street would be able to manage your emergency as effectively as a group who has planned, trained, and equipped themselves to deal with the problem.
What tips can you offer to organizations that are looking to enhance their severe weather preparation?
Make friends with your local National Weather Service (NWS) office. Call them and ask if they have a weather partners meeting, and if so, attend. These are loaded with good information
Make use of the tools provided by NWS, including the chat and InteractiveNWS (iNWS) features
Make extensive use of the point forecast metagram that NWS publishes
Find out if you can get on the list for the NWS special weather briefings. If you want to see what one looks like, search for NWS Atlanta on Youtube and watch their video briefings. These have far more information than your local media can possibly provide to you.
Be sure to catch the replay of our severe weather webinar, where Tim dives deeper into best practices for severe weather preparation. You’ll also get to hear from a Sr. Regional Sales Manager at Alertus Technologies on how Alertus’ crisis communication tools can be customized to suit the severe weather threats impacting your specific area.
You can catch the on-demand replay here!