On Wednesday, the campus will participate in a tornado drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week. The National Weather Service will issue a test tornado watch and warning between 10 and 11 a.m. unless severe weather is in the area. Douglas County will sound civil defense warning sirens for the daytime drill.
The hospital also will conduct an additional test tornado watch/warning drill on the evening/night shift, around 8 p.m.
Everyone should:
- Review the Severe Weather Plan in the Emergency Preparedness Guide, as well as your department’s plan.
- Know what to do and where to go in the event of a tornado warning.
- Take the stairs, not the elevator, during a warning.
“Living in the Midwest we must be prepared to deal with tornadoes and severe weather” said John Hauser, safety manager for UNMC. “Everyone should have the UNMC Alerts APP downloaded to their cell phone so they will be notified of tornado warnings and campus emergencies.”
The weather service has a “Tornado Safety: What You Can Do!” flyer that you can share with your family. For smartphone users, the American Red Cross has a tornado app for smartphones that can send real time tornado alerts for your area. It has useful information to help you plan and prepare.
Employees, faculty or students who experience problems or wishing to make suggestions can contact Hauser or complete an online survey.
Full link to online survey is here.
Review family plans
This week also is a good time to review family emergency plans regarding severe weather. Assistance in preparing family emergency plans can be found here.
Omaha-Douglas County alerts
The new, free Ping4 app for smartphones will notify you of community emergencies and natural disasters in Douglas County and elsewhere. Notifications include severe weather, community emergencies and urgent public announcements from various departments within local government. By downloading the Ping4 app, you will be able to select specific locations to be monitored, such as your workplace or home. When a Ping4 alert is issued for that location, you will be notified on a need-to-know basis. Find out more.
UNMC Alerts
Sign up for UNMC Alerts / E2 Campus to receive emergency notifications from campus security. You can find more information about UNMC Alerts online. You can find a link to the sign up on the quick links page of the intranet. (View sign up instructions).
What is "Sever" weather?