Getting more people to act: warning response

[Aaron Kennedy]

I think one of the best ways to reach out to the public is to try and get severe weather safety stuck into school curriculum (which to my knowledge are typically controlled at the state level). This builds a foundation of younger folk that will at least have adequate knowledge of severe weather safety. Erase the myths that are still apparently commonplace (valleys protect you, etc.).

Beyond this, news media should coordinate with NWS to produce segments, pamphlets, whatever. We need to stress that it CAN happen to you. Stress when and where deaths typically occur. You get the idea. At least remove as much potential for ignorance or misinformation as possible.

 

[Danny Neal]

How many people actually use the weather radios if they have them? This is a pretty big problem up here in the Chicago area in my opinion at least. I can't talk weather with any of my childhood school friends, because like most of the population, they feel "it never hits here" and immediately that will end the discussion. I was just at my grandmas house(shes going to be 78 in June) I bought her an NWR 4 years ago and put it in the kitchen adjacent to the bedroom in which she sleeps. Each and every weekend I come over to do chores and stuff for her. I find it unplugged the cord wrapped around it and it sitting in the corner collecting dust. Of course as respectifully as I can I explain that its there for a reason why would you turn it off. "Well it is not storm season" OR "It wastes electricity" are the two popular answers. As we have seen in recent years....ANY SEASON IS STORM SEASON....Case in point. Jan 7th, 2008 2 EF3's hit 50 miles away from where I am currently typing this.....I was on top of things....was she or anybody else with the same mindset of "It's winter." I don't know about the south or the plains or the east, but around here if it is not April and May then NWR's turn into that old christmas gift that your creepy uncle gave you.*GENERALIZATION* If someone is that concerned about a tiny weather radio wasting electricity then invest in some batteries.

Of course we all say that the south should be prepared for tornado season as this time of year is their peak months, but as many have already mentioned, it is up to the individual to make the decision to save his or her own life. Now I really feel horrible for the elderly or the sick and wheel chair bound victums of any disaster that may no about the warning, but due to their condition or age, can't do anything about it. I just heard a story on CNN I believe it was from Tennessee where an elderly lady in her mid 80's was blown from her home, landed a couple hundred feet a way and survived. She said all night she was sitting there watching election coverage and then the next minute she woke up in a field. The same could be said for a teenager home alone on a night his parents are out working, with his nose in the computer or playstation 3 totally oblivious to the danger outside. Some of the damage photos I have seen from the event has shown a lack of a basement present....well what is there to do then? An interior room in the photos that Randy posted would have been blown away with the rest of the house. We as a group see the dangers of weather and many of us (if living in mobile homes/single family residence w/ no basement) when faced with a high risk would call up that friend, or work an extra shift at work, or hell CHASE the storms. Point is we are the truly "educated"(in terms of severe weather preparedness) and know what to do. It was our commitment to want to. Everyone in the USA is capable of learning where to go, what to do, and how quickly to do it.

The same with the fire plan most 1st graders bring home. Where do you go in case of a fire, where is the meeting place, forget all your valuables, come as you are. Maybe schools can start implementing designed tornado shelter maps for 1st graders to bring home. Okay when a warning is issued everyone meet downstairs in the storm room, or everyone run over to "Uncle" Mikes house across the street because he has a basement. In rural area I would think the majority of the population would know about a severe weather outbreak just by the simple fact that MOST schools were (A) let out early or (B) cancelled for the day. I can tell you if I was a parent and my 12 year old is coming in the door at 1130 AM I am certainly going to be asking questions. The older generation has set their ways.....either you believe it or you don't. I think the focus here is to teach the youngest child and build from there. Like Jeff Snyder posted, METEOROLOGICALLY speaking there wasn't much more we could do. I can bet you though......that little 4 to 10 year old affected by this tragedy will be a lifelong believer of IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.

EDIT: LOL Aaron beat me to the school education debate as he posted as I was typing so I guess for me it was more of a reinforcement.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

EDIT: LOL Aaron beat me to the school education debate as he posted as I was typing so I guess for me it was more of a reinforcement.

I believe it is exactly that a debate... should schools really spend that much time, effort and money, all of which are already stretched thin, on an issue that claims relatively few lives? According to 2005 data that I could find, tornadoes kill 55 people annually and that average has been dropping (though Tuesday won't help). Compare that to these annual 2000 death #'s, tobacco 435,000, Poor Diet 365,000, Alcohol 85,000, Motor Vehicle Crashes 26,347, Suicide 30,622, Drug use, unsafe sex, ext. ext. There are many other issues that are of much greater threat to US citizens, you can educate people all you want on tornadoes, the problem still remains we can't prevent tornadoes and tornadoes kill people. It would be quite inefficient; the $ to life ratio would be much higher than if you were to invest that $ and time into other issues which are of greater threat to residents. Schools have limited resources, and there are much more efficient ways to allocate those resources than wasting them on an effort that even *if* it is effective would save such a relatively small number of lives.

 

[Danny Neal]

I believe it is exactly that a debate... should schools really spend that much time, effort and money, all of which are already stretched thin, on an issue that claims relatively few lives? According to 2005 data that I could find, tornadoes kill 55 people annually and that average has been dropping (though Tuesday won't help). Compare that to these annual 2000 death #'s, tobacco 435,000, Poor Diet 365,000, Alcohol 85,000, Motor Vehicle Crashes 26,347, Suicide 30,622, Drug use, unsafe sex, ext. ext. There are many other issues that are of much greater threat to US citizens, you can educate people all you want on tornadoes, the problem still remains we can't prevent tornadoes and tornadoes kill people. It would be quite inefficient; the $ to life ratio would be much higher than if you were to invest that $ and time into other issues which are of greater threat to residents. Schools have limited resources, and there are much more efficient ways to allocate those resources.

I see what you are saying and point you make and it certainly is valid. I am not suggesting schools spend thousands, millions, billions of dollars implementing education procedures. It just seems like a good idea for a volunteer of the NWS go out to schools for even a 30 minute presentation *remember this is namely grade schoolers so the level of content shouldn't be way over their heads* Even if that is too much, I think when the schools do their "fire safety week" they should also do their "tornado safety week." I remember every year around March 1st, our school would do a tornado drill. Go to the hallway in the fetal position and no talking. That would be it though. No explanation why, nothing. Especially grade schoolers....send some phamplets come tornado season for that area. Devote a day of classroom studies just talking about where you would go. Even if it just the teacher him or herself talking could go a long way since we all know how easily influenced younger kids are. After the period of anger and hurt some of these little kids go through after losing family to nature, I am sure the majority of them will want to learn about it. I used to be terrified of tornadoes and thunderstorms after seeing what happened to Plainfield, IL, in 1990. But where that fear came from, also sprouted interest. I believe fear in this case is just lack of understanding and knowledge. From that grew respect. I can guarentee you no matter what age you are living in those impacted areas the 5th, that a new fresh respect has occured. I truly feel said for that 1 yr old found alive in the field, that will never grow up to know their mother.

Dustin you are exactly right that teaching our young not to practice unsafe sex or not to drive drunk or do drugs is a major role. But if most schools could have a fire man come in and preach fire safety, or a police man come in and teach "stranger danger" and "DARE" then maybe a spokesman one day of the year to certain school districts would be an idea. How can you put a price on peoples lives? Which is the reason I think it should be completely Voluntary. To ask the millions of schools to do that would be impossible to achieve but at least the idea is there.

**I realize this is slightly off topic and I don't want to take away from the DISC thread, and I also don't want to dig up the year old thread, so it is your choice MODS**

 

[Jonathan Whitehead]

Well seeing as this thread is already over 12 pages long, guess I might as well add my 2 cents. As some of you know I am originally from Memphis, TN. Me and my immediate family moved to the D/FW area in the summer of 02 immediately after graduating high school. Having been away from the Memphis area for that amount of time I can only speak on the time I was there. During my high school years I began attending local storm spotters seminars on a regular basis. My first year I attended the seminar in Shelby Co. which was prob spring of 2000, I could count the number of people there on two hands. As each year came and went, the number of people attending these seminars increased...so much so that my last year of 2002, there was a packed house at the Collierville Chamber of Commerce building/Community centre. So I was glad to see people finally taking the initiative to take these seriously.

Now from the rural standpoint, Danny nailed it on the head.

How many people actually use the weather radios if they have them? This is a pretty big problem up here in the Chicago area in my opinion at least. I can't talk weather with any of my childhood school friends, because like most of the population, they feel "it never hits here" and immediately that will end the discussion. I was just at my grandmas house(shes going to be 78 in June) I bought her an NWR 4 years ago and put it in the kitchen adjacent to the bedroom in which she sleeps. Each and every weekend I come over to do chores and stuff for her. I find it unplugged the cord wrapped around it and it sitting in the corner collecting dust. Of course as respectifully as I can I explain that its there for a reason why would you turn it off. "Well it is not storm season" OR "It wastes electricity" are the two popular answers. As we have seen in recent years....ANY SEASON IS STORM SEASON....Case in point. Jan 7th, 2008 2 EF3's hit 50 miles away from where I am currently typing this.....I was on top of things....was she or anybody else with the same mindset of "It's winter." I don't know about the south or the plains or the east, but around here if it is not April and May then NWR's turn into that old christmas gift that your creepy uncle gave you.*GENERALIZATION* If someone is that concerned about a tiny weather radio wasting electricity then invest in some batteries.

The older generation has set their ways.....either you believe it or you don't. I think the focus here is to teach the youngest child and build from there. Like Jeff Snyder posted, METEOROLOGICALLY speaking there wasn't much more we could do. I can bet you though......that little 4 to 10 year old affected by this tragedy will be a lifelong believer of IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.

Dannys story about her grandma is so true its scary. This nearly hit the fan with the January outbreak last month. I have grandparents in NW Ark, specifically the Rogers/Springdale area. Back when I was in middle school (late 90s) I gave my grandma a wx radio as a gift. Well each time I came to visit after giving the gift I always found the wx radio in a corner collecting dust with the cord wrapped around it. So each time I had to set it up and plug it in. Well that really wasnt a problem at the time as my grandma was an avid watcher of the TWC. Well when I started at OU her health began to go down hill and she was sleeping most of the day so the tv was of no help. So you might say well my grandpa's there, he could take action. Well unfortunately no. 9 times out of 10 hes asleep in the back room too or out of the house somewhere. Hes almost as clueless as my grandma.
So long story short, the older generation are set in there ways, and thats just the way it is. So we must educate the young so when they get older they arent as stubborn as their elders.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

So we must educate the young so when they get older they arent as stubborn as their elders.

What do you mean educate them? It sounds like a great idea, though I guess I don't see what you can do to educate someone... I think about 99.999999% of people realize tornadoes are dangerous, what kind of education are you going to provide that will change the outcome after a tornado event such as Tuesdays? I personally don't think it's an issue of education, people don't need an education to realize that hearing the sirens or seeing the tornado warning's on TV means that there is inclement weather in the area, and I at least like to think that everyone knows what they "should do" during a Tornado Warning, no one really thinks it means run outside and look up do they? I can't imagine educating them would change rather or not they opt to do what they should do. And as for wx radios it's like trying to get everyone to wear seat belts, only a tougher battle, as your much more at risk not wearing your belt than you are not using your wx radio... as much as you pound it into peoples heads, as to what they should do, there will always be those who opt not to. Maybe I'm just completely overlooking the ignorance of so many Americans, and undoubtedly a quick lecture to young kids won't hurt, I just don't envision it changing the outcome when you have tornadoes such as those that occurred Tuesday.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

Dustin,

Stretched time in school is a legitimate concern. If done properly, however, would it really add that much more time? We already take time out of the day to do tornado drills... attach a little school-wide function on the same day. If we really want to get into school time issues, I'd be happy to share my opinion on the insane amount of standardized testing that occurs. I'll leave that out of this thread to avoid going off topic =)

I just don't envision it changing the outcome when you have tornadoes such as those that occurred Tuesday.

I don't necessarily disagree... it's more of a laying a foundation to rid the population of the ridiculous myths that are still propagating.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

MOD: Split from 2/5/08 DISC thread since it's not really event-specific any longer. All are encouraged to continue this important discussion, though!

 

[Danny Neal]

Dustin,

I don't necessarily disagree... it's more of a laying a foundation to rid the population of the ridiculous myths that are still propagating.

This is true. I think we all agree that educating the younger population is a must. Which way to do it is the most effective? I figure throwing in education at school would be most effective. That way you get almost 100% attendance than saying "Come on Saturday for a free 3 hour education on how to protect yourself during severe weather and popular myths that will be extinguished." It is almost like how I was brought up to believe there were 9 planets and recently has been trimmed back to 8. A lot of outdated information being passed around. Hell even near some big time universities, have college MET majors take a class assigned at a specific school to promote severe weather safety. Of course there are bigger more prominent issues out there, but in this case and in our field, this should be the biggest in dealing with public.
MYTH REALITY
Tornadoes don't hit cities: well show them from 1997 on and all the major areas effected.
Tornadoes can't hit my town because I am in a valley: Look at Clinton, AR
Tornadoes won't happen because it is not spring: Depends on your season
Tornadoes ALWAYS come from the SW: Probably only 50-75% true.

I mean these are still some that are going around today. If you have grade schoolers learning this, than the next generation of tornado knowledge and preparation is doomed. Until you actually experience it, you will never know. Most people directly impacted by tornadoes, never want to experience that again. If we can turn that fear around to respect and knowledge then the media may stop writing articles that people had "no knowledge" of the events happening. Perhaps the media should start writing...."People Fail To Take Warnings Seriously" instead of "Residents Complain Over Lack of Warning"

 

[Terry Tyler]

What do you mean educate them? It sounds like a great idea, though I guess I don't see what you can do to educate someone... I think about 99.999999% of people realize tornadoes are dangerous, what kind of education are you going to provide that will change the outcome after a tornado event such as Tuesdays? I personally don't think it's an issue of education, people don't need an education to realize that hearing the sirens or seeing the tornado warning's on TV means that there is inclement weather in the area, and I at least like to think that everyone knows what they "should do" during a Tornado Warning, no one really thinks it means run outside and look up do they? I can't imagine educating them would change rather or not they opt to do what they should do. And as for wx radios it's like trying to get everyone to wear seat belts, only a tougher battle, as your much more at risk not wearing your belt than you are not using your wx radio... as much as you pound it into peoples heads, as to what they should do, there will always be those who opt not to. Maybe I'm just completely overlooking the ignorance of so many Americans, and undoubtedly a quick lecture to young kids won't hurt, I just don't envision it changing the outcome when you have tornadoes such as those that occurred Tuesday.

i agree with everything dustin said to a tee, and i couldent have said it better myself...

all this discussion doesnt do a thing to change the outcome of a severe weather event...people KNOW what to do when theres a tornado out...i feel that it would be a small percentage of people who died going out to take a look and see whats up...what people do is their own responsibility, but in the case of yesterdays storm...you can clearly see, that even with warnings, and taking precautions...with a strong enough storm, it doesnt matter where you are if it levels your house...

they are big on safety at my job, they have safety meetings every wednesday at 9:15, and they cover all kinds of topics...they were talking about the severe weather last week, and told about how we all have to go to the breakroom in the back of the plant and wait until they do a head count, and wait until and all clear is sounded...

it doesnt matter if everyone was in that breakroom if an EF-4 come tearing through the plant, if it happened to destroy the above-ground level breakroom...then it doesnt matter how safe, or what precautions you took...you were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time...

 

[Brandon Smith]

Even out here in Southern Pennsylvania, the magnitude of the recent tornado outbreak has hit home with some people.

I work at the Staples in town and had a couple with their young child come in asking if we sold weather radios. I informed them that we used to but unfortunately, someone higher up decided not to sell them anymore. With that said, I advised them to head over to the Radio Shack in town to purchase one. Thinking of how much media attention this recent outbreak has gotten, I asked if this was related to that event. They stated that they saw a news report about weather radios (brought on about the outbreak). They went on to say that the report stated that they are not only good for severe weather but also good at alerting people of "all hazards." In his case, his house backs up to a major highway and he was concerned about being alerted if a hazardous load were to crash nearby.

I think this is one point that is really missed when trying to relay the message that weather radios are an important piece of any place, especially in areas where severe weather doesn't occur very often. Not only do they alert individuals about severe weather, but they can provide detrimental information on localized civil emergencies that could potentially harm a large group of people.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

The front-page, big bold headline on MSNBC.com right now? "Tornado warnings found lacking". The headline links to a video see HERE) that talks about how some people didn't have warning from sirens. One of the guys interviewed said that he had no warning at all.

Yes, that's exactly what gets me in these events. You DID have warning had you chosen to have a way to receive such a warning. As far as I can tell, that area is covered by NOAA Weather Radio, which means that he had access to weather information had he had a weather radio. There is such an over-reliance on outdoor warning sirens (many of which are not designed and/or layed out to be heard by all residents inside their homes) that I really wish the NWS had more money to spend to advertise NWR/AHR. The local media around here (OKC) have been very good with their strong recommendations of weather radios, but I don't know the extent to which media outlets in the southeastern US advertise such devices. It also would have helped if the video (part of NBC Nightly News) had at least mentioned weather radio. *shrug*

Of course, part of my "ugh" feeling about this can be attributed to the fact that I read "tornado warnings found lacking" to mean that "tornado warnings" were not issued for some (many?) of the tornadoes, which is obviously not true. The "warnings found lacking" is at the lowest part of the "warning chain" -- how to get warnings from "officials" to the people. Unfortunately, the failure of this seems to be increasingly becoming an issue with the common citizens, as opposed to officials not issuing a tornado warning or local media not receiving that warning.

FWIW, we often hear this from at least one person interviewed after many significant tornadoes that affect a community.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

The local media around here (OKC) have been very good with their strong recommendations of weather radios, but I don't know the extent to which media outlets in the southeastern US advertise such devices. It also would have helped if the video (part of NBC Nightly News) had at least mentioned weather radio. *shrug*

Perhaps making a simple suggestion to your local media outlets to at least mention wx radios is the simplest most effect step many of us could take, can't see how it would hurt. Much like you send a letter to your local senator, send a letter/email to your local TV meteorologist, reminding/recommending they mention wx radios to their audience, if the general public is going to listen to any meteorologist its the TV guys. Maybe they'll even take it a step further, many news stations,(especially across the plains) are so news deprived anyway, they are often looking for any sort of "consumer" type stories. I see no reason why they wouldn't be at least interested in even doing a story on wx radios, explaining what they do, how they work, where to acquire ext.. ext...

 

[David Poch]

I just heard a story on CNN I believe it was from Tennessee where an elderly lady in her mid 80's was blown from her home, landed a couple hundred feet a way and survived. She said all night she was sitting there watching election coverage and then the next minute she woke up in a field.

IF this story turns out to be true then the same networks *****ing about some having no warning did not do their job and cut in to cover what was going on. Nice real nice.

I did my part this Christmas season. I bought everyone in my immediate family a weather radio. I programmed them and put the backup batteries in there before I shipped them out. After they received them I told them that all they had to do was plug them in and it was ready to go. My little sister that just had a baby lives in Woodstock IL and I called her back in January to make sure she had it plugged in and turned on, she did not but I convinced her to do so. About 30 minutes later it went off for the tornado warning on the storm that started near Rockford. I don't think she will ever unplug it anymore and was really grateful that I got her one.

We got our first one after the August 28th 1999 Plainfield IL tornado from the fire station my dad was a volunteer at. At that time the radios were kind of a pain since they would go off for whatever county, we still used it anyway but with SAME that excuse is not valid anymore.

 

[Mark Manchester]

There is a program we have here in Missouri, and through a quick Google search found it in a few other areas as well. It is sponsored by the American Red Cross and is called Ready In 3. It's an information tool that prepares people for disasters of all kinds, not just tornados, and basically lays out a plan of action to take should disaster strike.

Rather then giving all of the details here I'll provide a link to our state's Department of Health and Senior Services page that outlines the program: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/

On an annual basis I provide pamphlets, handouts and informational material across the county, especially to the schools and other areas where large groups gather and the information can be shared with the public. I will say that as with anything, it takes people actually using the information and heeding any warnings, but since it's introduction we have had a very good response from the people that have received the material.