20 minutes later, nothing happened. Another text read "Tornado warning cancelled." The entire campus sighed collectively.
Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.
But still, the tornado warning system seems to be a bit overblown. These warnings (often issued for storms in distant parts of the county) freak out much of campus for no real reason. I understand that safety is the main concern, but screaming "fire" seems a little unnecessary.
This being said, the text from Carl Loney came out a whole ten minutes after the tornado was reported. By this time, the entire Witt campus could have been in severe danger had a tornado actually come through in that time. Why wasn't the warning sent out closer to the report? When danger was actually a possibility?
Loney's email said that his information came from Channel 7, which lead me to believe that the Security Office does not use the National Weather Service as a resource. This seems almost like a game of telephone; the best way to get info is right from the source. Why doesn't Witt use technology like an Emergency Alert System (WUSO has one, for Christ's sake)? Strange.
I have no real opinion on whether the weather alert system is too much or too little. I'm positive students have opposite opinions, so I'm leaving it up to you! Get at me with those responses.
I'd agree, but you also need to take into account that in the last 2 days, over 30 people were killed from tornadoes. The biggest one was in a pretty sized large city in Tennessee, the size of Springfield. It caused a lot of damage, people were killed, and roofs were thrown off people's homes. So, it's something that shouldn't be taken lightly either, it's always better to take precautions than to be dead.
ReplyDeleteAlso, television stations are always alerted by the National Weather Service in Wilmington within the Miami Valley and Central Ohio areas, before warning viewers. In fact, all the warnings and watches you see on television are issued by the National Weather Service not by the television stations. So him watching Channel 7 is a credible source.
One other thing I wanted to add: The National Weather Service did confirm there was a tornado in Clark County. It was an F0 tornado.
ReplyDelete