2008 Woodie Awards
Warning system did not function properly
BRITTANY BINOWSKI
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: News
UGAAlert subscribers received more than 149,000 notices of a tornado last week, but many heard the news somewhere else first.
By the time students received texts, phone calls and e-mails from UGAAlert Aug. 29, they had already taken safety measures by evacuating buildings and moving to safer places.
"I was extremely unimpressed by the UGAAlert system," Lauren Gorman, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, said. "I received my text in what seemed like hours after the storm started."
Nearly 50,000 people were notified Aug. 29 with 64,000 phone calls, 70,000 e-mails and more than 15,000 text messages, Steve Harris, director of the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, said, but the official warning system initially failed to function properly.
"We did have some issues and a delay that we were not happy with," Harris said.
When UGAAlert is activated, computer systems are triggered to send messages to students.
The problem, however, is that the messages are sent in batches without any priority, meaning that messages are sent out at different times to random groups of the student body until everyone has been notified.
The University has been working with cell phone companies to make sure that phone systems don't overload in emergency situations and to figure out how to prevent problems like this from occurring in the future.
"I thought UGA did a nice job handling the tornado warning," said Ryan Galvin, a Mount Pleasant, S.C. native. "From what it seemed like, everyone understood to take cover after the sirens went off. I was walking out of the dining hall when I heard them and turned around and went right back in."
The good thing about last Tuesday's warning is that the tornado sirens worked fine, buses stopped, and people took cover, Harris said.
On Sept. 11, the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Center for International Trade and Security will host "Responding to Emergencies on Campus: UGA and You," a free seminar open to the public on campus safety.
Many University administrators and security professionals will speak at the seminar, including Harris. The speakers will discuss what the University is doing to promote and improve campus safety and what students should expect in case of an emergency.
The seminar will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel.
By the time students received texts, phone calls and e-mails from UGAAlert Aug. 29, they had already taken safety measures by evacuating buildings and moving to safer places.
"I was extremely unimpressed by the UGAAlert system," Lauren Gorman, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, said. "I received my text in what seemed like hours after the storm started."
Nearly 50,000 people were notified Aug. 29 with 64,000 phone calls, 70,000 e-mails and more than 15,000 text messages, Steve Harris, director of the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, said, but the official warning system initially failed to function properly.
"We did have some issues and a delay that we were not happy with," Harris said.
When UGAAlert is activated, computer systems are triggered to send messages to students.
The problem, however, is that the messages are sent in batches without any priority, meaning that messages are sent out at different times to random groups of the student body until everyone has been notified.
The University has been working with cell phone companies to make sure that phone systems don't overload in emergency situations and to figure out how to prevent problems like this from occurring in the future.
"I thought UGA did a nice job handling the tornado warning," said Ryan Galvin, a Mount Pleasant, S.C. native. "From what it seemed like, everyone understood to take cover after the sirens went off. I was walking out of the dining hall when I heard them and turned around and went right back in."
The good thing about last Tuesday's warning is that the tornado sirens worked fine, buses stopped, and people took cover, Harris said.
On Sept. 11, the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Center for International Trade and Security will host "Responding to Emergencies on Campus: UGA and You," a free seminar open to the public on campus safety.
Many University administrators and security professionals will speak at the seminar, including Harris. The speakers will discuss what the University is doing to promote and improve campus safety and what students should expect in case of an emergency.
The seminar will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
john
posted 9/05/08 @ 8:39 AM EST
"I was extremely unimpressed by the UGAAlert system," Lauren Gorman, a sophomore from Lawrenceville, said. "I received my text in what seemed like hours after the storm started. (Continued…)
BC
posted 9/05/08 @ 4:06 PM EST
I didn't get my warning about taking cover from the storm until after the National Weather Service had given the all clear. It was probably about 15 minutes, not hours. (Continued…)
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