4 ms·
You're partly correct. (fwiw, I will in an area that gets tornado producing storms and I know just what you mean about the sirens.) There are multiple problems
by Avleen 15y ago
You're partly correct.
(fwiw, I will in an area that gets tornado producing storms and I know just what you mean about the sirens.)
There are multiple problems which I'm trying to address here:
First is that of warning. The sirens are great, and they do mostly work. Meteorologists do a fantastic job of predicting storms and their velocity, but getting that information out is hard.
If I'm asleep and I hear the sirens, that acts as a general warning. I can dive into a basement or tornado shelter, but then getting further information is difficult. Yes, you can buy self powered radios, but you know that many people simply don't. But everyone will cling the to their phones like they're made of gold, so we should make use of that.
Second is getting information back out. An upcoming feature is to report back to places like Facebook, Twitter, and other networks that you're close to a tornado. This lets your friends and family know what is going on, and to many people this is important too.
Third is more information. Laura Myers at Mississippi State University has conducted interviews with several thousand people regarding their behaviour during a tornado watch. The striking thing is that everyone wants confirmation before they act. Sirens alone aren't enough for most people, they want more information. They want to know they're directly in the path of real tornados. This app is here to help bridge that gap. If the sirens go off and people around are reporting that real tornados are touching down, I hope this helps give those people even more motivation to get moving to their safe spot. The sirens SHOULD be enough, but we all know they're not and human behaviour doesn't work like that :-)
So, at the end of the day, if this helps save even a single life, I think it's worth it. It won't be able to save everyone, but every bit helps, and this lets us all help our neighbours, and our community.