![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.learningaloud.com\/curmudgeonspeaks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/alert.jpg\" "\\"alert\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nI was headed across campus at 1 to have lunch with my wife. The emergency alert system suddenly activates:<\/p>\n
Evacuate Grand Forks, Evacuate Grand Forks, you will be given further instructions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Strange I thought. I have actually evacuated once, but that happened in the middle of the night because of a flood. What could this be? We seem an unlikely target for some kind of military action. Not exactly a high value target.<\/p>\n
Two possibilities seemed most likely; 1) students from a rival institution had hacked the system possibly related to the potato bowl this weekend (yes, we have a potato bowl), 2) an ammonia tanker in the rail yard had ruptured.<\/p>\n
It occurred to me that we were playing a team from the west coast with which we have little history so hacking the system reserved for emergencies seemed something you would save for a rival. The ammonia thing seemed a possibility so I searched for the instructions that were promised. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.<\/p>\n
I decided to have lunch.<\/p>\n
The explanation came 40 minutes later.<\/p>\n
The emergency message asking people to evacuate Grand Forks should was intended to be a siren tone test only. A siren-only test is sounded the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. \u00a0The Emergency Management Office apologizes for any inconvenience.<\/span>
\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nYou can tell the person writing this announcement was excited. Now, aside from thinking too many people had to be consulted before someone bothered to explain, I am fascinated by this image I now have of the preprogrammed emergency box.<\/p>\n
What do you think?<\/p>\n
Button one – this is a test<\/p>\n
Button two – evacuate Grand Forks<\/p>\n
Button three – head for the basement<\/p>\n
Button four – head for higher ground<\/p>\n
Do you think that in an emergency someone might issue a confusing message or not know what to say? Hence, all emergency messages had to be carefully worded and preprogrammed.<\/p>\n
I now think they need a button with the message “Whoops – my bad. Never mind!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Weeks go by when there is nothing interesting to blog about and then there is a day like today. I was headed across campus at 1 to have lunch with my wife. The emergency alert system suddenly activates: Evacuate Grand … Continue reading