By Brad Atzinger
A tornado warning issued for the Louisville Metro area on Thursday prompted the University of Louisville to issue its first “Fast Alert” emergency notification. Though a comprehensive test for the system was originally planned for next Tuesday, U of L administrators decided last week’s severe weather warranted an immediate response.
“When we heard the weather forecast, we discussed several ‘what if’ scenarios and decided to go ahead and use ‘Fast Alert’ if tornado warnings were issued,” said Larry Owsley, U of L’s vice president of business affairs. “It’s rewarding to see the system work in a real emergency and to know that our campus community is safer because of the system.”
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Jefferson County at 6:40 p.m., and U of L’s warnings were sent out at 6:42 p.m., according to a university press release. The release also said the “Fast Alert” system notified students several different ways.
An audio and text warning message was broadcast on the university’s 8,900 phones, which were purchased over the summer in order to implement the broadcast system. Also, text messages were sent to the 4,630 students and faculty who signed up for the alert system.
“I think the university’s emergency response was very effective,” said sophomore biology major Beth Van Lengen. “It’s easy for students to get wrapped up in listening to music or studying, and they may not be able to hear the sirens outside.”
Other students had concerns with U of L’s evacuation procedures. Miriam Moore, a political science major, said her class was dismissed after a student received the alert prompting students to seek shelter. “We were in the Humanities building and had a hard time hearing the sirens since the walls are so thick,” the senior said.
However, Moore said she was not aware of any evacuation procedure. “I’ve never noticed anything that tells us where to go in case of emergency.”
The emergency broadcast also included an e-mail to every U of L account holder, and an announcement on the university web site.
U of L reported that preliminary analysis of the broadcast showed that messages were successfully delivered within one minute of the time they were sent. The statement, released Friday, said, “The U of L emergency response team will further analyze and evaluate the system activation to see how implementation can be improved.”
Students can register for emergency text messages on their cell phones via http://www.louisville.edu/alerts.
