FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 8, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University campuses will participate on Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the first Emergency Alert System nationwide test as conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.
IU Emergency Management and Continuity staff at each IU campus will send an email message using IU-Notify, the university’s emergency alert system, at 2 p.m. to faculty, staff and students in coordination with the national test. The message also will be delivered through digital signage, Facebook and Twitter. The notice will be clearly marked as a test, and university websites will alert campus communities in advance to expect the message.
Fire Alarm Test Wednesday:
Also at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Floyd County will test county-wide tornado sirens, including those at IU Southeast, as part of the nationwide test. Again, tornado sirens heard at IU Southeast at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9 are only a test.
Indiana’s Winter Weather Preparedness Week:
The nationwide test also comes in time to call attention to Indiana’s Winter Weather Preparedness Week, Nov. 16 to 22, as declared by Gov. Mitch Daniels. Those in the university community are encouraged to make sure their vehicles are in good working condition, to dress appropriately for outside temperatures during severe winter weather and to carry a cell phone in the event of being stranded. Additionally, vehicles should be equipped with jumper cables, a functional flashlight, an ice scraper, emergency flares, a blanket, a shovel and one or two bags of sand or rock salt.
IU faculty, staff and students are strongly encouraged to visit IU-Notify to review, verify, update and add contact information to ensure that they will receive IU-Notify messages in the event of an emergency. They should log in to OneStart at https://onestart.iu.edu to confirm that contact information submitted previously is still correct.
More information about IU-Notify and other university resources for emergency management and continuity can be found at http://emergency.iu.edu and http://protect.iu.edu; on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IUEMC or follow @IUEMC on Twitter.
About the EAS:
The Emergency Alert System is a public alert and warning system that leverages the communications assets of terrestrial broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service providers, direct broadcast satellite services and wireline video service providers to allow the president of the United States the capability to address the American public during a national emergency.
About IU-Notify:
IU uses a variety of methods to provide emergency and safety information, including sirens, public address, Web pages, building stewards, residence hall assistants, broadcast and electronic media, and a consolidated communications system. Collectively, these capabilities are called IU-Notify. The IU-Notify project, designed to consolidate IU’s communications systems, greatly enhances the university’s ability to effectively transmit critical incident information.