I don't think that overall people find the system to be without any
merit. If you'll recall, this thread started with the intent of
providing constructive feedback on the system's performance. Sometimes
one cannot assess how well a system works until it is tested. In this
case, perhaps some re-evaluation is warranted? Just sayin'.
John B. Johnston
505 Biochemistry Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-7177
Email: [log in to unmask]
"By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man's, I mean." (Mark Twain)
On 4/6/2010 4:44 PM, John Gorentz wrote:
[log in to unmask]"
type="cite">At 02:44 PM 4/6/2010, Laurence Bates wrote:
I don't
believe that it is ever the
user's fault that they were not notified
in a timely manner. A warning system that has any value whatsoever
should
be timely, organized and comprehensive. This warning is a useful
event only
if we recognize that it would have been inadequate for any disaster
rated
more serious than a milk shortage.
Strenuously disagree. The system still has much value even if
it isn't perfect, or even if it isn't nearly as good as it could be for
a
reasonable expenditure of money. I would never want to have
complete confidence in a disaster warning system. If people
put their confidence in such a thing, we do them a good public service
by
eroding that confidence. I want there to be a warning system, but
even if we fire all of the MSU professors and employees and invest the
money in a better disaster warning system instead, it will never be
perfect, or even good enough for people not to complain about
it. Such is life in the real world, where one
tries to manage risks but cannot eliminate them.
(When I saw the warning in my e-mail, I checked wunderground.com and
saw
that most of the action had already passed to the north of those of us
at
the Kellogg Biological Station. I wasn't completely surprised
by the warning, because I had been told that there was a possibility of
high winds.)
John Gorentz
Frankly
this is a
serious issue that
needs to be addressed so that confidence in MSU's emergency
management
system is not eroded. At least 40,000 paying customers depend on
it.
Laurence Bates
-----Original Message-----
From: Kwiatkowski, Nicholas
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MSUNAG] Emergency Warning Anecdote
As with any disaster, please do not rely on personal communications as
your
sole source of information. These systems often break down in the
case of
emergency. They are great as supplemental sources of information,
and are
great additions to the sirens, fire-alarm enunciators and
announcement
systems.
If you have the inkling or think there may be a disaster, please tune
into
the mass-media of your choice. All of the local television and
radio
stations were identifying the tornado's location within 2 minutes of
its
identification by the Grand Rapids NOAA station. Weather.com,
Weather
Underground and the rest also had prominent displays on their sites for
what
the issue was. Additionally, the MSU Cable Television system but
a
scrolling banner on each channel, along with WKAR's messages on many of
the
radios and music-on-holds on campus.
If you do hear emergency information from a reliable source
(Mass-media,
etc.), please pass it on those near you. The only full-proof way
that we
can all remain safe is if we work together.
-Nick Kwiatkowski
MSU Telecom Systems
-----Original Message-----
From: Gene Willacker
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 12:31 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MSUNAG] Emergency Warning Anecdote
I just received my e-mail notice about the tornado warning. Based on
these headers, it looks as though it may have been in the msu.edu
mail
queue for about 45 minutes. Anyone else have stories about the
emergency
alert systems? This would be a good time for DPPS and others to
collect
data. Co-workers here were getting phone and SMS alerts after the
storm
had reached Webberville and the sirens were turned off.
>From - Tue Apr 06 12:20:35 2010
X-Mozilla-Status: 0001
X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000
Return-path: <[log in to unmask]>
Envelope-to: [log in to unmask]
Delivery-date: Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:20:07 -0400
Received: from smtp.notification.com ([208.93.120.245])
by
mx12.mail.msu.edu with esmtp (Exim 4.69 #1)
id
1NzAp1-0008FL-Ac
for
[log in to unmask]; Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:36:14 -0400
Received: by smtp.notification.com id hndaem0rirc7 for
<[log in to unmask]>;
Tue, 6 Apr 2010 08:33:19 -0700 (envelope-from <[log in to unmask]>)
MIME-Version: 1.0
From: "MSU Alert" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
X-Priority: 1
Priority: urgent
Importance: high
Date: 6 Apr 2010 08:33:18 -0700
Subject: Tornado Warning
