As tornado sirens sounded all over the state last Tuesday, emails and texts were sent to every student’s phone and computer as part of the annual IU Notify test.
The tornado drill was part of Indiana’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week. The drill provides an opportunity to test the IU emergency alert system, said Marge Abels, emergency management and continuity program manager.
“We’re entering the time of year when a tornado is more likely,” said Ken Long, interim director of emergency management. “This is a good opportunity to test our own systems and adjust to any problems we might be having.”
This is also the time of year the delivery system for IU Notify is brought under review, Abels said. Every spring, Rave Mobile Safety, the current system IU uses, is compared to other systems that might perform better or be more cost effective.
The system delivered 25,272 text messages in four minutes and 52 seconds for the Bloomington campus during Tuesday morning’s tornado drill. 93,415 emails were delivered in 16 minutes and 22 seconds.
The drill received generally positive feedback, with 68 percent of surveyed students reporting they were satisfied with IU Notify’s role in the drill, Abels said.
“To everyone on campus, though, the system used doesn’t matter,” Abels said. “The data in the message is the same, and the data is what we try to adjust to make it as useful as possible.”
IU Notify releases two different types of alerts, Abels said. Crime alerts are released for Clery Act reportable crimes, and emergency alerts are released for any situation considered urgent for student safety.
“When we have a crime that has to be reported under Clery, we look at how urgent the situation is and whether anyone is in immediate danger,” IU Police Department Capt. Andy Stephenson said. “If it’s not urgent, we can spend a little time finding more information to pass along.”
According to the IU Critical Incident Communications Plan, there are templates in place for 14 different types of emergencies, including armed or active shooters, bomb threats, earthquakes, explosions, fires, floods, utility failure and severe storms.
The most common complaint from students is the emergency alerts don’t always have enough relevant information, Abels said.
“But when a situation is ongoing, sometimes not everything is available right away, so maybe all we know is that there is someone with a weapon but not what they’ve done,” Abels said. “And it’s important to balance informing the public and not creating panic.”
On the other end of student complaints is the claim there are too many IU Notify alerts during a developing emergency, Abels said.
But because IU has a larger number of students and faculty on campus at any given time than the rest of IU’s eight campuses, it would be too difficult to create targeted messages for certain populations, Abels said.
“If it’s dangerous for one student, it’s important enough for us to alert everybody,” Abels said. Abels said the IU Notify drills and tests can be used to try out different ways to balance these concerns. Even the real crime alerts can be used to test the system, especially at the beginning of the year, Abels said.
“Each time we have to send out an alert, we learn more about what we should or shouldn’t do,” Abels said. “The more input we have, the better we get at it.”
