There was recently a tornado warning in Hamilton at 1:30 in the morning. At 1:30 in the morning, many people are in bed, not monitoring the media. They'd have no way of knowing that a tornado is coming.
Last time there was a tornado warning here in Toronto, I continued to sit in my living room, monitoring the Weather Network and Twitter and watching out the window. The reason why I didn't go into the basement is because a) it's a parking garage and b) I'd have no way to know when the warning ended from down there. There's no TV or internet, I doubt you can get radio signals down there (and if you can, I don't know which radio stations would broadcast immediately that the tornado threat is ended), so basically it was a choice between being comfortable and aware, or milling around in an underground parking garage with no idea of when to go back up.
Tornadoes are different from ordinary weather warnings in that simply going indoors and going about life normally is insufficient. You have to get away from windows and cantilevered roofs and go underground if possible. The actions required to save lives are immediate and specific, and only need to be taken for a relatively short period of time. We need a better way of warning people when a tornado (and other weather phenomena with a similar degree of urgency, like a hurricane or a tsunami) is imminent. It needs to be able to warn people even when they aren't monitoring the media, and it also needs to let them know when the warning is over.
My idea: set up a warning system that rings every telephone in the affected area. It shows on call display as "Weather Warning", and you hear a recorded message telling you the affected area and what specific action to take. It would be timed so that a human answering the phone would hear the message, and voicemail would also record the message in case people don't answer right away. This would make it clear how urgent the situation is and that you, yes you, the person answering the phone, need to go hide in the basement right now. Then, after the warning is over, you'll get another call giving you the all clear.
But what about cellphones? If it's technically feasible, I propose using cellphone towers to ring every cellphone in the affected area. If this isn't possible, the they should go by the home address to which the phone is registered. That will make sure that people who don't have a landline get the warning when they're at home. Anyone who's out in a place of business or other building will get warned when the building's phones ring, so the only people who aren't reached are those who are outdoors away from telephone and media contact. Obviously an ideal solution would be one that can reach people who re out of contact too, but being able to reach everyone who's within reach of a phone and warn them to take immediate action would be a massive improvement over the status quo.
6 comments:
Better yet during the war, there were sirens. They use them in the States and they are effective to warn of tornados. That way, you'd know about it if you are in the critical area. Cell phone calls are great, but it would eliminate half the new people in town, and end up warning those that have left town.
I was thinking sirens, too, like during air raids in WWII.
But the ringing telephone idea is cool, too.
I have never paid attention to a tornado warning. I suppose I should, but I doubt I ever will.
@TravelMaus: Why would it eliminate half the new people in town and end up warning those who have left town?
Because when people relocate to other cities, they take their old cell numbers with them. I think that's what TravelMaus meant.
Do people not update their address with the cellphone provider so they can keep getting their bills etc?
I get my cell phone bill online, so I don't think I would be very quick about updating my home address.
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