False EAS Notification?

[zlosin]

I just saw this on Drudge:
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Despite what residents may have seen on television, the state of Connecticut was not ordered evacuated on Tuesday.
State emergency management officials believe someone pressed the wrong button, and instead of running a test of the emergency alert system, midday television viewers and radio listeners were told that the state was being evacuated.
"There is absolutely no evacuation or state emergency," said Kerry Flaherty, of the Office of Emergency Management. "It was an erroneous message."

The department was investigating how the alert was sent. Officials said it is manually released to broadcasters.
The error prompted Gov. M. Jodi Rell to issue a statement reassuring residents.
"We are looking into the circumstances and will take every step necessary to make certain this type of problem does not reoccur in the future," she said.

Did you get a false alert today?
just wondering
Zen

[mmichaelson]

Wow. That is really frightening. I hadn't heard that anywhere else. . .

[zlosin]

In the days when I was running MCR that would have scared the $*|t out of me! I did at one time listen to the old EBS tapes that WERE to be used in an actual attack. Those were scarry too. Broadcasters have to be prepared.
The EAS system is supposta be automatic, there are even codes to warn of Tsumani. This is a printout of what the alert says but usually the printer is out of paper or ink. Therefore you would not know what you are putting on the air.
After the 9/11 crisis, EAS test were suspended for about a month because the admins of EAS though the tests might make people panic.

<small>[ 02-01-2005, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: PSIP ]</small>

[mmichaelson]

huh. You'd figure cnn or someone would have picked up on that error. . . .will go check to see. . .

[mmichaelson]

nope. none of the major news networks are carrying anything on it. Has anyone in Connecticut heard about this??

[shostakovich]

Well, there was a traffic tie-up between Hartford and Windsor about 2 PM. There were no sirens, no troopers, nothing to indicate any more than a possible accident ahead. When we got home, we heard on the local news that there was a mistaken evacuation order posted during the day. I think most residents had the good fortune to miss it, since it happened during working hours, and well before heavy TV time. We had the car radio on, and there was no emergency broadcast.

As far as I know, there is no published evacuation procedure here, anyway.
Shos

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Q: How can you evacuate an entire state? And to where?

I know Connecticut is an itty bitty state, in the middle of other itty bitty states, but where would you put all the people?

I'm trying to picture a disaster that would justify evacuating a state, rather than "coastal regions" or "landslide areas" or "low ground" and it's not happening.

[Trumpetmaster]

Heard about that last night on the news. Could not believe it.

[barfle]

I heard about it on NPR this morning.

[Nicole Marie]

Yeah it happened. Each week the EAS runs a test on the TV. The button for the weekly test and the announcement to jump ship are right next to each other. The person who was in charge of the test hit the wrong button. (Wonder if he/she still has a job!) Most people were at work and did not hear about it until the evening news. The state police issued a correction right after it aired and most news stations interrupted programming to let folks know it was a mistake. So there really was no panic. Us Nutmegers really were not bothered by it. We take everything in stride. It seems like folks from out of state are more worried. But the EAS did announce they are getting rid of the "jump ship" announcement. They said never, ever would we need that announcement. (Well not in those words but ya' know...)

But where would we go? Nowhere. I'd never leave my state! We are the wealthiest state in the nation; I'm not jumping ship!

<small>[ 02-02-2005, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: Nicole Marie ]</small>

[Trumpetmaster]

Nicole,
Connecticut is also an expensive state to live in.
I believe the taxes are among the highest in the country.
My parents are contemplating moving back north ever since Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola but was not an option due to cost.
Glad your feeling better and back!
Regards,
Howard

[dai bread]

As an off-shoot of the Asian Tsunami, some comments have been made here about what would happen if we had a tsunami. Living as we do on a major subduction zone, such a thing is by no means impossible, and the geological record shows that several tsunamis have hit these islands in the distant past.

However, although our Civil Defence authorities say they have plans for such a thing, no-one has said what they are, and there is no warning system that the public is aware of.

Is it any better in your countries?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

"Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone go".. Head for High Ground pretty much sums up The Tsunami Plan.

I think the only thing that emergency response services can plan for is the after-event cleanup and repair and victim care. It's sad but true that we can't do anything about natural disasters.

[mmichaelson]

All of the land between Galveston and here is pretty much waaaaayyy below sea level. We would definitely have to run fast, with all the Houstonians coming towards us too. That would be a scary scary day!

[dai bread]

My newspaper ran an article about tsunamis in the Chatham Islands, and it seems that there have been 7 tsunamis that reached NZ's east coast since European settlement. Two of them hit the Chathams, but only one man lost his life.

The largest wave is alleged to be 15.3 metres, but I can't believe that as the coastal towns in the district it refers to would have been wiped out, or at least severely damaged, and as it was in 1931 I think I would have heard of it, since I spent my boyhood in the region concerned. There was certainly a big earthquake at the time. It flattened most of the town, but the consequential damage I heard about related to fire, not flood.

[Giant Communist Robot]

Here in Hawaii we have tsunami warning sirens on poles scattered just about everywhere. They are tested first of the month at noon.

Everyone knows its inevitable; another one's coming.

[lioness]

hmmmm.... there's that REAL reason i stayed in colorado. safety played a major role in my decision.

[Trumpetmaster]

Originally posted by lioness:
hmmmm.... there's that REAL reason i stayed in colorado. safety played a major role in my decision.

Not at Independence Pass.

[lioness]

what am i missing about independence pass?

[Trumpetmaster]

It was a road I took a number of years ago that was 2 narrow lanes (no guard rail) that went up the side of the mountain on our way to Aspen. It was closed alot in the winter time because if you looked out the window it was basically straight down. You would see cars the fell off the side of the mountain. I was in a Volkswagen Beetle and wished there was another route.