Preparing for Severe Weather
As winter gives way to spring, our thoughts turn to the warm days ahead. Winter coats and boots will slowly be replaced by T-shirts and flip-flops. Instead of staying away from the cold, we’ll be out hiking our favorite trail or catching some rays at the beach.
But as we look forward to the spring and summer months, the threat of severe weather, including tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, floods, hail storms, and ice storms, still looms. Regardless of your location and the storms common to your region, below are some proposed steps to prepare your facility for severe weather.
Weather Monitoring
Advancements in weather monitoring and prediction have allowed weather forecasters to provide notice of impending storms long before they impact us. Consistent monitoring of news and weather outlets can give you the advanced notice you need to be prepared.
Alertus simplifies weather monitoring with our NOAA integration. The NOAA integration allows facilities to receive real-time notifications of any relevant warnings or threats. By eliminating the need for human interaction or input, you can reduce error and save time when it matters the most.
Emergency Mass Notification
Having a system in place to inform your organization of impending storms is crucial to saving lives. 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, two students lost their lives. Jason then dedicated himself to creating an emergency mass notification system that could reach everyone, everywhere to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. Today, the Alertus Unified Mass Emergency Notification System provides the best in in-building, outdoor, and personal notification solutions to ensure that everyone can receive vital, life-saving information.
Incident Reporting
It is important that everyone in your facility has a way of communicating effectively with emergency personnel for assistance before, during, or after a severe storm. The Alertus Mobile Recipient App was specifically designed to provide all end users with an incident reporting feature that includes built-in gps, photo-capture, and end-user profile delivery to emergency personnel to aid them in successfully addressing and responding to any incident.
Drills & Training
Conducting drills and trainings are the best way to prepare your organization for properly receiving, understanding, and acting on any emergency notification they receive. Everyone in your facility needs to be trained on where to look for emergency information. For example, Alertus Alert Beacons® are a great tool for providing buildings with audible-visual notification in any emergency. However, if people are unaware of what these devices are, where they are located, or what it means when they’re activated, then they will not be properly prepared to receive or act upon any information delivered by the Alert Beacon.
The people within your facility should also be aware of the language used in emergency notifications. You can help raise awareness by using consistent and expected language when sending alerts, as well as informing everyone of alert procedures and naming conventions.
Be sure to visit the Alertus Resources to learn how you or your organization can better facilitate emergency management and prepare for severe weather.