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Livvie

What method(s) of emergency warning does your area use?

Inspired by this question: https://answermug.com/forums/topic/137304/have-you-ever-been-affected-by-a-severe-storm/view/post_id/956534/

All cities and towns near me have sirens, but I live too far away from town to hear them.  My dogs can hear them just fine!  They start howling once a month at noon when they get tested.  Other methods would be the Emergency Alert System on TV and radio and emergency phone alerts which I get.  I also have a weather radio which is probably the most important thing I have since I live on a farm that’s seven or eight miles from the nearest town.

Posted - May 12, 2022
Tags : None

Responses


  • 11151
    We have emergency warning sirens but we bought them from England so they go - eeeeey you - eeeeey you - eeeeey you. Actually we have regular sounding sirens and one of our mobile devices will give us a warning. Cheers!
      May 12, 2022 1:45 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    I can actually imagine what sounds like based on your description. That noise I imagined got stuck in my head, lol.
      May 12, 2022 9:31 PM MDT
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  • 10662
    Code Red and hi/lo sirens. 

    These were instituted recently, just after the town of Paradise burned down (2018).  Before that all we had was a local radio station (which was very unreliable).

    Since these measures were put in place, I've received 3 Code Red calls (all due to local wildfires).  Thankfully, no hi/lo sirtens (as of yet).
      May 12, 2022 2:44 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    The fact that you never heard the siren is a good thing, but in the case of the wildfire I experienced in Colorado it was a bad thing.  The cities that were destroyed were Louisville and Superior.  Neither city was able to sound their sirens because in both cities, their computer systems prompted them to select an emergency.  Wildfire wasn’t one of the choices.  That’s an epic fail.
      May 12, 2022 9:38 PM MDT
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  • 16826
    There are alerts across all forms of media, and police (sometimes supported by the military) doorknock when "catastrophic" fire danger conditions are present. People are also warned to have a battery operated radio handy in the event of power failure in said conditions.
      May 12, 2022 5:28 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    That’s interesting.  I’ve never experienced door knocking from the police.  I’m not sure how practical that would be where I live because the farms are pretty far apart. This post was edited by Livvie at May 13, 2022 4:55 AM MDT
      May 12, 2022 9:42 PM MDT
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  • 16826
    As soon as fire danger ratings go catastrophic, the local ABC radio broadcasts regular warnings as well, including emergency evacuation alerts and giving the all clear when the danger is no longer present.
      May 13, 2022 4:33 AM MDT
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  • 11087
    We have the sirens, but the sirens were never designed to be heard indoors. I do get alerts on my phone as well. If storms are forecast, I will monitor my weather app. It also gives alerts, but tornado warnings are mixed in with pollen alerts and any other non-threatening messages.
      May 12, 2022 5:39 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    All of those were going off right before 6:00 earlier this evening.  I have a lot of branches down in my yard but nothing serious, no property damage, all of my trees are still standing.  However, I just found at that my town has extensive storm damage.  My power generator‘s been running since the storm so the power lines are probably down in my area.
      May 12, 2022 9:50 PM MDT
    1

  • 1633
    We still have this...



    We also have an extensive air raid siren system which is still tested every Monday at 1 pm






    This post was edited by bevo at May 12, 2022 8:14 PM MDT
      May 12, 2022 5:47 PM MDT
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  • 5451
    My town used to have the Federal Signal 2T22 like the one in your video, but it was replaced with a Federal Signal 2001.
      May 12, 2022 9:52 PM MDT
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  • 1633
    That's great.  I couldn't tell you if the sirens here have been updated or not.  They get very little attention.
      May 13, 2022 2:42 PM MDT
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  • My city has sirens. I've only heard them used for commemorations. Perhaps the natural disasters we've had, such as the alert for a severe thunderstorm and tornado we had two weeks ago would have been a good time to use them, but I've never heard them used to warn of a real emergency.

    The emergency warnings are carried on TV and radio. All of the TV stations, radio stations and cable companies are required to carry emergency messages. We also get emergency warnings via smartphone.
      May 12, 2022 8:33 PM MDT
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  • 17614
    I get recorded phone calls on both mobile and landline phones.  There is no siren here....back home that was the method.  They even send these alerts when the water in the harbor is a little rough and the wind is significant..  They call them sail alerts. 
      May 13, 2022 4:44 PM MDT
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  • 34432
    Sirens
    TV alerts
    Radio
    Cell phone
    And my MIL...if it is storming, she is at my house.  
      May 13, 2022 8:15 PM MDT
    2