Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 23-27
PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release – March 16, 2015 Contact Michael Ehret – 712-336-3987 – mehret@co.dickinson.ia.us Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 23-27 Dickinson County EM to launch DickinsonAlert on Monday The National Weather Service along with Emergency Management agencies in Iowa have declared March 23-27 Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa. On Monday of that week we are launching our new mass notification system called DickinsonAlert. Severe Weather Awareness Week Each year, severe weather affects our area and last year was no exception with the storm that struck on June 16. The storms that day caused flash flooding and straight-line winds damaged trees and structures throughout the county. Some areas were without power for almost two days. Dickinson County would later receive a federal disaster declaration as a result. Now is the time of year to be preparing for severe spring and summer weather. Being prepared Being prepared for severe weather means having a kit with supplies to last you up to 72 hours and designating a severe weather shelter at home. You should also know where your severe weather shelter is at work and school. Getting weather information How can you receive valuable and potentially life-saving weather information? There are numerous ways and a few of them are listed here: Local TV and radio stations – they often break into regular programming to provide wall-to-wall weather coverage as storms are rolling in NOAA all-hazards (weather) radio – this device will remain silent until activated by the National Weather Service. Once activated, it will emit a tone to alert you that a watch or warning has been issued. It will tell you what is happening and what you need to do to protect yourself. Every home and business should have a weather radio. The Internet & Social Media – Dickinson County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service both have an online presence with our websites and social media feeds. These sources are good if you’re not near a radio or TV, but use caution: Websites can get overloaded and that can cause delays in information getting out. Also, internet access may be affected by power outages during a storm. Finally, always verify your sources when relying on social media for weather information. The Internet and Social Media both make for a good backup, but should not be your primary source of weather information when severe weather is imminent or occurring. DickinsonAlert – When you sign up for DickinsonAlert, you can choose to receive notifications for severe weather watches and warnings. Responding to a warning Getting the warning information is one thing…responding to it is another. Each year, many people are injured or killed due to severe weather because they chose to ignore the weather warnings. When a warning is issued for your area, go immediately to shelter and have a battery-powered radio or weather radio there so you know what is happening and when it is safe to leave your shelter. Upcoming events A sure sign of spring is the start of weekly siren tests in Dickinson County. Those tests will start this Wednesday, March 18 at noon. The sirens will be tested countywide every Wednesday at noon through at least October. The tests will be cancelled if thunderstorms are in the area or we are in a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch. The annual statewide tornado drill will be held on Wednesday, March 25. The mock tornado warning will be issued around 10:10 a.m. that morning. At that time, we will activate all of the outdoor warning sirens in the county. This is the time that all schools, businesses and anyone at home should practice their severe weather safety plan by going to the designated shelter. On Wednesday, May 13, we will be holding two events related to severe weather. First, from 5-7pm, we will have a public safety open house at the fire station in Milford. Several agencies from throughout the county will show off their equipment and there will also be a severe weather safety trailer at the open house from Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. Then from 7:00-9:00 p.m. that evening the National Weather Service will be holding a storm spotter class also at the Milford fire station. The public is cordially invited to attend both events on May 13. For more information For more information including daily preparedness articles during Severe Weather Awareness Week, go to www.dcem.us. DickinsonAlert DickinsonAlert will be launching in Dickinson County on Monday, March 23. It is a part of AlertIowa which is managed by the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department (HSEMD). In 2014, Governor Branstad signed a bill which allowed for the purchase of a statewide mass notification system. The contract was awarded to Inspiron Logistics for their WENS (Wireless Emergency Notification System) product. From there, each county can choose whether or not they will participate in the system. Dickinson County notified HSEMD of our intent to participate and after submitting the required documents, we were accepted onto the system. This system will allow public safety officials in Dickinson County to send out alerts to the public. These alerts can be sent via e-mail, text message or by an actual phone call and can be sent to specific geographical areas or countywide. When citizens register for the system, they can choose which weather watches and warnings they would like to receive from the DickinsonAlert system. These notifications will be sent via e-mail and/or text message. Some alerts, such as tornado warnings and high wind warnings, will result in an actual phone call being made to whichever phone number you designate for receiving voice calls. Aside from weather watches and warnings, each city in Dickinson County has also agreed to utilize the system to send out emergency alerts to their residents. When you register for DickinsonAlert you can choose which city or cities you would like to receive notifications from. Registration for DickinsonAlert is done online through the Dickinson County Emergency Management website at www.dcem.us. If you need assistance with this or don’t have Internet access at your home, you may sign up at one of the five libraries in Dickinson County. Libraries are located in Arnolds Park, Lake Park, Milford, Spirit Lake and Terril. You can also get help at the emergency management office by calling 712-336-3987 or emailing mehret@co.dickinson.ia.us. For more information about DickinsonAlert, go to www.dcem.us. AlertIowa is paid for by the State of Iowa and is provided at no cost to Dickinson County to participate in the system. It is also free for citizens to sign up to the system (any text messaging fees from your mobile provider will apply, however, if you choose to receive text messages). For more information on AlertIowa, go to homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/about_HSEMD/alert_iowa.html Dickinson County Emergency Management Phone: 712-336-3987 E-mail: mehret@co.dickinson.ia.us Website: www.dcem.us Facebook: www.facebook.com/DickinsonEM Twitter: www.twitter.com/DCOEM
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