TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Emergency officials are trying to learn why Tuscaloosa’s emergency alert system failed to warn people of a tornado that struck parts of the city and county.
The EF-1 twister struck the community on April 28.
The Tuscaloosa News (https://bit.ly/1qdLZ1k ) reports that the system failed to make automatic phone calls or send text notifications to the 25,000 numbers or email addresses registered.
The city agreed to a two-year contract with a mass notification company last year. A Federal Emergency Management Agency grant covers 75 percent of the annual $27,737 the company receives for providing the service.
City spokeswoman Deidre Stalnaker said the system should send out automatic alerts whenever a National Weather Service warning is issued. From now on, a city employee will manually issue an alert to ensure that it goes through.
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Information from: The Tuscaloosa News, https://www.tuscaloosanews.com
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