Monday’s severe weather prompted discussion at Tuesday’s Allen County Commission meeting and spurred conversation about efforts to identify possible issues with the county’s new Genasys emergency notification system.
Emergency Management Director Jason Trego told commissioners he received numerous calls from residents who reported receiving no alerts through the Genasys system.
“There are several people that were within the tornado-warned area in far northwest Allen County that did not receive any sort of alert,” Trego said.
The county switched from Code Red to Genasys in recent months, and Trego said the storm exposed what may be growing pains associated with the new platform. While system records indicate alerts were successfully sent and delivered, some residents insist they never received a text message or phone call.
“I’m working with Genasys to figure out why an alert shows that it has been sent and delivered, but our people are still saying they have not received anything,” he said.
Trego also heard concerns from residents who received text messages, but not phone calls. He explained that Genasys was originally configured so tornado warnings generated both texts and voice calls, while severe thunderstorm warnings produced only text messages. “That was by default how Genasys has their system set up,” he said.
Following public feedback, Trego noted that adjustments have already been made so severe thunderstorm warnings will also generate phone calls.
Another point of confusion involved outdoor warning sirens. Trego said some residents questioned why sirens were not activated when the tornado warning was issued. The warning area covered only a small section of far northwest Allen County near Geneva and Neosho Falls, an area without storm sirens. The nearest sirens are located near Carlyle.
Trego said activating every siren in the county whenever a small portion of Allen County falls under a warning could create “warning fatigue,” a situation where residents become desensitized to alerts and are less likely to take action.
“This was a very slow moving storm,” he said, noting emergency personnel tracked it for nearly two hours before it entered Allen County.
IN ADDITION to National Weather Service radar, the storm was monitored using local radar systems and reports from deputies in the field. Trego said the county does not rely solely on automated warnings when making decisions about siren activation.
“If they were to say we’ve got rotation or we’ve got a tornado on the ground, we’re setting off those sirens without a warning from the National Weather Service,” he said.
Commission Chairman David Lee suggested emergency management explore periodic tests of the Genasys system similar to routine community siren tests.
“That is something that we could look into,” Trego said, adding that recurring test messages are possible through the system.
Trego also presented commissioners with information on a service that would allow storm sirens to be activated remotely through internet-connected devices and could automatically sound sirens when a tornado warning polygon includes a siren location.
The proposal would cost $3,162 in the first year with annual fees of $1,662 thereafter.
