Press release - City of Avoca, Iowa

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
“Public Safety, Public Trust”
To:
School Districts, Hospitals, City Clerks
& Fire Chiefs
From:
Scott Manz, EMA Specialist
cc:
Doug Reed, EMA Director
TORNADO DRILL – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
Pottawattamie County will be participating in the Iowa/Nebraska Severe Weather Awareness Week activities
scheduled for this week. Our National Weather Service (NWS) Warning Forecast Office (WFO) is located in Valley,
Nebraska and will be conducting severe weather awareness activities throughout the week. In particular, they will
be conducting a Test Tornado Warning between the hours of 10:00 am and 11:00 am. It is important for us to
participate with their activities since that is where our media outlets get their information and who determines
when tornadoes threaten our county prompting siren activation. Here is a timeline for what we can expect:
DRILL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
09:50 am
911 will alert county storm spotters
Message: Storm spotters are requested to activate, all fire department members please
acknowledge by using I Am Responding. This is only a drill. This will be used to test the fire
departments response to storm spotter activations. Members are not required to deploy to
assigned spotter locations.
10:00 am
Test Tornado Watch issued for Iowa & Nebraska – 911 will announce via radio/pager/phone
systems to public safety.
Message: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Pottawattamie County.
This is only a drill.
10:10 am
NWS Omaha will issue a Test Tornado Warning – 911 will activate sirens and announce via
radio/pager/phone systems to public safety.
Message: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for Pottawattamie County.
This is only a drill.
Test Tornado Warning & Watches will expire
Message: The tornado drill warnings & watches have been allowed to expire. This concludes
the severe weather drill activities.
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
“Public Safety, Public Trust”
Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency recommends that all School Districts, Hospitals and public
facilities take part in the Wednesday drill. This is a good opportunity to practice your severe weather emergency
plans by conducting internal drills and sheltering during the drill. On Wednesday, drill activities will be announced
over the NOAA All Hazards Radio and local broadcast media outlets that a TEST Tornado Watch and Warning has
been issued. This will be each agencies prompt to implement your emergency procedures and respond accordingly.
The drill is scheduled to last approximately 20 minutes in duration. Termination of the drill will be announced
over the NOAA All Hazards Radio and local broadcast media outlets.
Citizens are encouraged to participate in the drill. Attached to this correspondence is a flyer advertising the drill.
Please post a notice at all public access areas to your department that your staff will be participating in the
drill.
Outdoor warning sirens will be activated throughout the county during the TEST TORNADO WARNING.
If you have any questions regarding the tornado drill or severe weather preparedness please contact our office
at 712-328-5777.
Thank you,
Scott Manz
EMA Specialist
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25TH, 10:00AM – 11:00AM
Pottawattamie County 911 will be sounding sirens for all of Pottawattamie County as part of
the 2015 Tornado Drill following a TEST Tornado Warning issued by the National Weather
Service in Omaha.
***THIS IS ONLY A DRILL***
This Test provides you an opportunity to: Learn your community’s Warning signals, Practice
sheltering in place, Organizing a family or facility emergency plan and putting together an
emergency kit
Find severe weather and disaster preparedness information at www.bereadyiowa.gov .
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE March 20 2015
Contact: Pottawattamie County Emergency Management
712-328-5777
Severe Weather Awareness Week – Pottawattamie County, Iowa
COUNCIL BLUFFS – Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency, Iowa Homeland Security
and Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and other preparedness partners will be
participating in Severe Weather Awareness Week to promote severe weather safety to citizens the week
of March 23-27, 2015. Severe Weather Awareness Week is part of a bi-state effort in Iowa and Nebraska
to encourage residents to prepare for severe weather that might impact their homes, businesses, and
schools from flooding, flash flooding, strong wind, lightning, hail, and tornadoes.
The National Weather Service will promote weather safety by issuing informative daily public
information statements. Citizens can also get this information by following Pottawattamie County
Emergency Management Agency on Facebook. There will be a different topic every day: Monday – Flash
Flooding, Tuesday – Weather Warnings, Wednesday – Tornado Safety, Thursday – Severe
Thunderstorms, Friday – Family Preparedness.
***** The annual TORNADO DRILL DAY will be Wednesday, March 25th.
*****
The drill sequence will begin at 10 a.m. with sirens sounding Throughout Pottawattamie County shortly
after. All citizens, businesses, schools, healthcare public facilities are encouraged to participate in this
drill by practicing what you would do in a real tornado warning.
This tornado drill presents an excellent opportunity for everyone at work, school, or home to practice
what they would do when a real severe weather emergency occurs. Knowing what to do in advance
can help prevent unnecessary panic and confusion when severe weather does strike.
The most important severe weather safety tip is to be aware of the conditions. Every residence, school,
place of business, and government building should have a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) Weather Radio. These special weather radios are relatively inexpensive and are
available at many department or electronic stores. Tornado sirens are designed as an outdoor warning
signal and may not be heard from inside your home. A NOAA Weather Radio will help you keep your
family prepared for threatening severe weather.
For more information about severe weather preparedness you can contact the Pottawattamie County
Emergency Management Agency at (712) 328-5777 or visit www.BeReadyIowa.org.
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