By Emily Domayer–Tornado warnings and watches disrupted weekend plans Friday, Oct. 4.
Beginning at about 6:00 p.m., Sioux City’s sirens blared, alerting residents to seek shelter from several tornadoes in the area. The storms destroyed homes, injured at least 15 people and caused millions of dollars in property damage across Siouxland.
Members of the campus community who signed up to receive Morningside’s emergency alert text messages were told to go to the lowest part of the building they were in and to stay away from windows and doors.
If they haven’t already done so, students, faculty and staff should sign up for emergency text alerts so they can learn how to respond to a situation. To sign up, subscribers should go to the Morningside Portal page, and then click on the “ENS” link on the left side of the page.
The next step is to enter their phone number and check the boxes labeled “weather”, “closing” and “emergency” to receive all three types of alerts. Approximately 1,200 people have subscribed to the alert system. All emergency messages go to campus email, regardless of whether that person is signed up for the text alerts.
Brett Lyon, assistant director of security, issues emergency alerts for threatening weather, including tornadoes and blizzards. There are also alerts for campus closings and other emergencies of any kind. Dean Deeds decides if the campus should be closed because of a weather-related emergency. The tornado warning was the first alert to be sent this semester.
Three Alerts
A weather watch alert will tell the campus community to stay alert to changing weather conditions. A weather warning is more specific. A tornado warning advises subscribers to seek cover immediately, since a tornado has been spotted or seen on radar. A closing alert lets people know that the campus is closed and how long it will last.
Other emergency alerts would give specific information about how to respond appropriately. Examples of other emergencies would include a campus lockdown or a missing person report.
Morningside does not have one specific location on campus to seek shelter from tornadoes. The appropriate response to a tornado will vary from building to building. Generally, people should try to get to the basement of a building, and stay away from windows. If the building does not have a basement, they should go to a center room and stay as far away as possible from windows and doors.
Although some people might have a weather app on their smart phone, it will not be campus specific. Also, the Morningside alert system addresses all types of emergencies in addition to weather.
“People may have a weather app on their phone, but it may not send out an alert if they don’t have it set up to do so,” said Lyon.
Clay Ackerman, a junior vocal music education major, was teaching a guitar lesson with his friend in North Sioux City when the Friday storm hit. “It was looking bad. We weren’t sure if we should go or stay.”
He received the text alert, which prompted him to find better shelter because the studio didn’t have a basement. Ackerman and his friend gladly accepted an invitation to wait out the storm in the basement of his employer’s house. The storm was very close because they actually saw the tornado touch down. “We finally left North Sioux around 8:00,” Ackerman said.
Lyon would approve of Ackerman’s actions. “The thing I can’t stress enough is that students need to take their safety seriously. When alerts are given, they should not be ignored. Everyone needs to take every alert seriously and follow the directions sent out in it. Things can be replaced; lives can’t be.”
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