I hope all of your family and friends are safe after the regional disaster we all experienced over this holiday weekend.
Rain and storms were predicted, with high rain totals in many areas, but no one saw this event coming. We will always try to predict Mother Nature but she will never be fully understood.
I’m not going to go down the list of incidents that were responded to or the horrible loss of life that occurred, I want to focus on warnings.
Right now, there are a bunch of folks unhappy that there was little or no warnings prior to this event occurring. Others are complaining that there were no weather (tornado) sirens to warn them of the emergency situation. This is just disappointing…
Every single cell phone in every person’s pocket has a government warning capability that is equivalent to the National Broadcasting Emergency Warning System…its just most folks have it turned off! Every local news app on your phone has the same notifications…also shut
off. Even Ring and Next Door apps have warning notifications but they are normally shut off!
My phone was ringing like a Vegas slot machine all weekend, so I know they were all working…
Folks, while sometimes annoying, these little apps can actually save your lives during these types of regional and local emergencies. Please, go to your settings and turn them on - Please, go to your settings and turn them on - go to your settings, "Notifications" page, and scroll down to the bottom to "Government Alerts."
Finally, until the central Texas region is back on its feet, please check travel apps and local news prior to hitting the road. There are still many active incidents in central Texas, including searches for victims and debris clean up. And, this is the not the time for sight seeing. These are the worst times in a person's life...they don't need spectators. There are also a large number of roads and bridges that have been damaged or destroyed, impeding travel.
Be Safe
