[ Austin Local Alert System News Conference on March 31, 2026.]
[00:00:02]
I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY FOR JOINING US AND BEING A PART OF THIS IMPORTANT, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC AND FOR THE MEDIA TO HELP US, UH, GET OUR MESSAGE OUT ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP THIS WEEK.
UH, THE RUN OF THE SHOW THAT WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW TODAY IS, I'M GONNA SAY A FEW WORDS, AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO JIM REDDICK, WHO IS THE CITY'S DIRECTOR FOR THE, UH, OUR AUSTIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND, UH, HE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY HECTOR NITO, WHO IS THE TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE COUNTY'S LOOKING AT AND WHAT TO EXPECT THERE.
BEFORE I DO ALL THAT, HOWEVER, I'M, UH, PLEASED THAT I GET TO INTRODUCE SOMEBODY NEW TO THE PUBLIC AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA THAT ARE HERE WITH US.
AND THAT IS OUR NEW ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, RAMON BATISTA.
UM, HE, UH, UNLESS HE JUST TAKES OVER THE PODIUM, HE'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING TODAY, BUT, UM, BUT WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HIM HERE AND TO FILLING, UH, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER SLOT OVER PUBLIC SAFETY, AND I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU ALL GETTING TO KNOW HIM AS WELL.
WITH THAT, UH, UH, AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR JOINING US.
UH, WE SHARED NEWS LAST WEEK THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ALONG WITH MANY JURISDICTIONS ACROSS OUR REGION, INCLUDING TRAVIS COUNTY, BUT THESE ARE JURISDICTIONS ACROSS, UH, THE REGION AND ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS.
ALL OF US WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN A STATEWIDE DRILL FOR LOCAL EMERGENCY ALERTING SYSTEMS THIS THURSDAY, UH, APRIL 2ND IN OTHER, WE'RE GONNA BE INVOLVED IN A DRILL, AN EMERGENCY DRILL ON THURSDAY, APRIL 2ND.
THIS IS LITERALLY A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, AND THAT'S NOT AN OVERSTATEMENT OF THE ROLE OF WARNING SYSTEMS AND RECEIVING THESE MESSAGES.
THEY CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE AND THEY CAN SAVE THOSE YOU LOVE.
YOU'VE ALL, ALL HEARD ME SAY TIME AND TIME AGAIN AT PRESS CONFERENCES, UH, THAT WE'VE HAD RELATED TO WEATHER EMERGENCIES, IS THAT WE NEED EVERYONE, WE NEED EVERYONE TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE ALERTS THROUGH WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG.
I'M GONNA SPELL THAT OUT, WARN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG, WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG.
I HARP ON THAT EVERY TIME WE HAVE A PRESS CONFERENCE.
AND THE REASON I DO THAT IS THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE VERY IMPORTANT AVENUES THAT WE AT THE CITY AND, AND THE COUNTY AND OTHERS THAT ARE TRYING TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY AND SAFETY.
WE CAN USE THAT TO GET INFORMATION TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FAST IN TIMES OF EMERGENCY, WHETHER IT'S WEATHER RELATED OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF EMERGENCY.
BEYOND THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE AS CITIES AND COUNTIES, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER PARTNERS.
THOSE INCLUDE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND RIVER AUTHORITIES THAT ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO DELIVER EMERGENCY INFORMATION QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.
THIS IS A FIRST OF ITS KIND STATEWIDE TEST, AND IN THIS FIRST OF ITS KIND STATEWIDE TEST, ALL PARTNERS WITH EMERGENCY ALERT CAPABILITIES ARE BEING ASKED TO PARTICIPATE ON THURSDAY.
OUR HOPE IS THAT BY WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN ENSURE THAT NO ONE IS LEFT IN THE DARK, NO ONE IS SURPRISED OR UNPREPARED.
IF WE HAPPEN TO HAVE A DISASTER STRIKE, WE WILL HAVE, AS I'VE INDICATED, THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, JIM REDDICK, AND OUR TRAVIS COUNTY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER HECTOR NIETO.
TALK ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY THE PUBLIC CAN EXPECT ON THURSDAY IN JUST A SECOND.
BUT FIRST, I WANT TO GIVE MY THANKS TO THE STATE, UH, UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND PARTICULARLY TO THE TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, CHIEF NIM KIDD FOR ORGANIZING THIS DRILL.
WE'VE SEEN THE LIVES THAT CAN BE SAVED THROUGH EMERGENCY ALERTS AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SYSTEMS FAIL.
UH, WE KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN WE HAVE A DISASTER AND A SYSTEM FAILS.
WE'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND SADLY, IN SOME CASES, CLOSER TO HOME, THIS IS TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO PRACTICE.
SO, I WANT TO THANK CHIEF KIDD.
UH, WE TALKED OVER THE WEEKEND, AND I, I WANT TO AGAIN SAY HOW GRATEFUL I AM AND APPRECIATIVE I AM, THAT HE IS TAKING SUCH A STATEWIDE LEADERSHIP EFFORT ON THIS, BECAUSE WE WANT TO GET IT RIGHT.
WE WANT TO GET IT RIGHT EVERY SINGLE TIME.
OUR COMMUNITIES ARE DEPENDING ON US.
SO WE'RE GOING TO PRACTICE, WE'RE GOING TO PREPARE.
AND PART OF THE REASON WE'RE DO LETTING EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS, THAT WE'RE HAVING A PRESS CONFERENCE LIKE THIS, UH,
[00:05:01]
IS BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE NOT TO BE SURPRISED ON THURSDAY.SO WE'RE REALLY LEANING INTO THIS, LEANING INTO THE MEDIA AND ASKING THAT YOU MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S A FALSE ALARM ON THURSDAY, BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE'RE DOING WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE DOING, WHICH IS PRACTICING.
AND KEEP IN MIND THAT IT'S ALSO A CHANCE FOR THE PUBLIC THEMSELVES, EACH INDIVIDUAL, TO ALSO PREPARE.
IF ON THURSDAY, YOU AND THE PUBLIC AREN'T GETTING THE TEST, YOU'RE NOT GETTING A WARNING, WHAT THAT MEANS IS YOU ARE EXPOSED AT THE TIME OF AN EMERGENCY OR A DISASTER.
YOU NEED TO GET ON THE SYSTEM.
WE NEED, AND WE ASK AGAIN, THE MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA TO REMIND PEOPLE OVER AND OVER THAT THEY, THAT THEY SHOULD GET ON THE SYSTEM AND HOW TO GET ON WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE NOTICED AND SEE HAPPEN A LOT DURING AN EMERGENCY IS THE LEVEL OF DISINFORMATION THAT OCCURS, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
YOU CANNOT, YOU SIMPLY CAN'T RELY ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO TELL YOU WHAT'S HAPPENING IN AN EMERGENCY.
UH, DON'T RELY ON TIKTOK, DON'T RELY ON INSTAGRAM.
UH, INSTEAD, WE NEED YOU TO BE LOOKING TO THE OFFICIAL CHANNELS.
NOW, WE WANT YOU TO FOLLOW THE OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY, OTHER JURISDICTIONS, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS, DURING A TIME OF EMERGENCY, PEOPLE WHO ARE SPREADING INFORMATION, UH, EVEN WELL-INTENTIONED INFORMATION FROM TIME TO TIME, THAT MAY NOT BE RIGHT.
THAT IS PART OF THE REASON WE NEED YOU TO SIGN UP, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THESE TESTS, IS TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF WHETHER YOU'RE ON THERE AND TO MAKE SURE WE'RE AWARE ABOUT WHETHER IT'S WORKING.
SO WITH THAT, UH, BACKGROUND, I WANNA TURN THIS OVER TO DIRECTOR REDDICK TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT ON THURSDAY.
THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, UH, CERTAINLY FOR YOUR, YOUR LEADERSHIP AND, AND SUPPORT.
UM, AND, AND THE RECAP WHAT THE MAYOR SAID, LIFE SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY FOR ANY DISASTER, RIGHT? SO OUR MISSION, ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL THINGS THAT WE CAN DO IS ALERT THE COMMUNITY IF THERE'S AN ACTIVE OR AN IMPENDING THREAT.
THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
UM, WE'RE THRILLED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STATEWIDE EXERCISE.
IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
WE DO TEST THIS SYSTEM ON A MONTHLY BASIS, BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENT FEELING WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE MESSAGE IS GONNA GO OUT TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT THE STAFF HAS THAT FAMILIARITY, UH, HAS THE TRAINING TO DO THAT, AND, AND HAS THE COURAGE TO PRESS THAT BUTTON, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
AND ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE WORK, THE SYSTEM WORKS, AND THE COMMUNITY KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT TO EXPECT BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER.
SO, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW THAT, UH, THIS TEST IS INVOLVED WITH BOTH WORN CENTRAL TEXAS AS WELL AS IPAS AND WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT.
WE, WE SPEAK IN ACRONYMS, RIGHT? IPAS IS THE INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM.
SO WHEN YOU SEE THE EEA, THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, SCROLL ON YOUR TV OR YOU HEAR ON THE RADIO, THIS IS A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM.
THEY'RE INTENDED TO GET YOUR ATTENTION, UH, BY ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEANS.
THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT, YOU'RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH, IS THAT'S USUALLY HOW AMBER ALERTS ARE BROADCASTED OR, UH, WARNINGS.
UH, WEATHER WARNINGS ARE SENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
WE ARE AN ALERTING AUTHORITY, AND WE HAVE THAT CAPABILITY AS WELL.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEND OUT ON THURSDAY.
SO WARN CENTRAL TEXAS IS TYPICALLY SUBSCRIPTION BASED.
IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING, IF YOU'RE NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THAT, YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE INFORMATION THAT WE COULD PROVIDE THROUGHOUT AN INCIDENT THAT WE COULD PROVIDE CONTEXT OR FOLLOW UP TO THE ALERTS AND THE, AND THE WARNINGS THAT WE SEND OUT.
IPA, AGAIN, INTEGRATED PUBLIC, UH, ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM, AND, AND SPECIFICALLY THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT.
WE'RE ABLE TO SEND LIFESAVING INFORMATION TO AN AREA THAT WE, UH, GEOGRAPHICALLY TARGET AROUND CELL TOWERS.
SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A SUBSCRIBER, WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE VISITORS THAT COME INTO THE AREA.
THEY WILL ALL BE NOTIFIED OF WHATEVER IT IS THAT WE NEED THEM TO DO, BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS LIFESAVING INFORMATION.
IT'S WHO WE ARE SENDING IT, WHAT THE ISSUE IS, AND WHAT THE PROTECTIVE ACTION IS, AND THAT'S IT, RIGHT? AND THEN WE FOLLOW UP WITH WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS MESSAGING.
[00:10:01]
SAID, YOU MAY RECEIVE MULTIPLE ALERTS ON THURSDAY.YOU LIKELY WILL RECEIVE MULTIPLE ALERTS.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, ALERT FATIGUE IS REAL, AND WE KNOW THAT TEXAS IS NUMBER ONE IN THE NATION.
FOR FOLKS WHO OPT OUT OF ALERTS, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT.
YOU WILL RECEIVE MULTIPLE ALERTS AND YOU'LL PROBABLY RECEIVE BLEED OVER FROM OTHER COUNTIES.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF WE'RE GONNA AIR, WE'RE GONNA AIR ON THE SIDE OF OVER ALERTING.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET THE INFORMATION WHEN IT COUNTS THE MOST.
SO PLEASE JUST APPRECIATE IT FOR WHAT IT IS.
IT'S YOUR CITY DOING WHAT WE CAN TO ALERT YOU BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER.
IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE AN ALERT ONE, MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER FOR WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS@WARRENCENTRALTEXAS.ORG.
AND THEN TWO, GO INTO YOUR SETTINGS ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES.
MAKE SURE THAT IN THE ALERTS YOU'RE ABLE TO RECEIVE THOSE PUBLIC SAFETY ALERTS.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MY FRIEND HECTOR WITH TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, MY NAME IS HECTOR, AND I'M HERE SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
UM, I WANT TO THANK, UH, FIRST OF ALL THE, THE HARDWORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UH, AT TRAVIS COUNTY AND ALSO AT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING, THAT ARE DOING THE HARD WORK TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THIS TEST, UH, RUNS AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, FOR THE PAST TWO SEVERAL WEEKS, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAS BEEN WORKING WITH MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES THROUGHOUT THE TRAVIS COUNTY AREA.
UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT IN TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, THERE ARE, UH, 23 ADDITIONAL SMALL CITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, VILLAGES, UH, IN OUR AREA.
AND WE'RE COORDINATING WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THEIR AREA IS COVERED AS WELL.
UH, THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO REITERATE THAT YES, YOU MAY RECEIVE, UH, MULTIPLE MESSAGES DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU'RE AT.
IF AT 10 30 YOU STARTED IN MAINOR, UH, BUT BY 1130 YOU'RE IN LAKE TRAVIS, YOU MAY RECEIVE MULTIPLE MESSAGES, UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT TIME THOSE MESSAGES GO OUT.
SO PLEASE, UH, BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU'RE RECEIVING.
AS NOTED, UH, DON'T UNSUBSCRIBE.
WE WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU'RE GETTING THESE MESSAGES.
UH, SO IF, IF YOU DO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS TO WHY YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THE, THE MESSAGE, OR IF YOU DID RECEIVE MULTIPLE MESSAGES, UH, STAFF IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
UH, WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT BACK TO THE MAYOR.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO PRACTICE.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE PREPARED.
UH, WE'RE UP HERE PREACHING FOR EVERYBODY TO BE PREPARED.
SO THE, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, ALONG WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS WANT TO ALSO BE PREPARED.
AND SO WE'RE ENCOURAGING EVERYBODY TO HELP US MAKE SURE THIS WORKS AND THEN, UH, BE READY THE NEXT TIME.
YOU KNOW, GOD FORBID, AND WE HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT, BUT THE NEXT TIME WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, SOME SORT OF EMERGENCY OR DISASTER THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS.
BETTY, WAS THERE A CATALYST, SINCE YOU SAY IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT A STATEWIDE ALERT HAS BEEN DONE, WHAT WAS THE CATALYST TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN? YOU KNOW, THE CATALYST COMES FROM, UH, THAT'S WHY I THANKED, UM, DIRECTOR KID.
UH, HE, I, OF COURSE, I'VE KNOWN HIM A LONG TIME, GOT TO WORK WITH HIM WHEN I WAS IN THE TEXAS SENATE AS WELL.
AND, UH, THAT'S WHERE ACTUALLY WE GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER, AND I GOT TO WATCH HIM UP CLOSE, UH, WORKING IN THOSE KIND OF SITUATIONS.
AND HE'S ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR SYSTEM.
SO I GIVE MY HAT'S OFF TO HIM AND I GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR SAYING, LET'S TEST EVERYTHING.
AND OF COURSE, WE ALL, UH, IMMEDIATELY SAID WHAT A GOOD IDEA THAT WAS, AND LET'S GO.
SO IT'S, IT'S MORE JUST LET'S BE PREPARED.
YOU LOOK AT SOME, OH, I'M SORRY.
YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS, MAYBE A COUPLE DIFFERENT NOTICES.
JUST TO CONFIRM, IS THIS ONLY GOING OUT TO PEOPLE WHO ALREADY SUBSCRIBE OR IS NO SERVICE? AND I'LL LET JIM MAKE SURE I SAY THIS THE RIGHT WAY, UH, AS THE DIRECTOR OF OUR, OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BUT WE DO HAVE WARNING SYSTEMS THAT GO OUT THAT AREN'T ONES YOU HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO.
WE CAN PROVIDE YOU MORE INFORMATION IF YOU HAVE SUBSCRIBED.
AND THAT'S WHY I KEEP, I KEEP PREACHING WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG.
HAVE I SAID THAT TODAY? WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.ORG.
UM, BUT THERE ARE OTHERS THAT, SO YOU, YOU CAN RECEIVE AND PROBABLY SOME WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN ONE MESSAGE.
AND THAT'S, AGAIN, PART OF WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS, UH, TODAY, IS WE WANT PEOPLE TO, A, NOT THINK THEY'RE GETTING A FALSE ALARM.
B WE WANT THEM TO KNOW WE'RE DOING WHAT THEY WOULD EXPECT OF US, WHICH IS TESTING THESE SYSTEMS TO MAKE SURE THEY WORK.
AND AS JIM POINTED OUT, HE, HE'S TESTING OUR SYSTEM ON A ROUTINE BASIS, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'RE DOING IT THIS WAY AND IN A BIGGER WAY.
UM, AND WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE OPTING OUT.
AND THEN FRANKLY, UH, THOSE THAT IF YOU DON'T GET A NOTICE
[00:15:01]
AND WE'RE TELLING YOU THERE, THERE'S GOING TO BE NOTICES GO OUT ON THURSDAY.IF YOU DON'T GET A NOTICE, THAT IS A SIGN THAT YOU ARE EXPOSED AND YOU MAY NOT BE GETTING INFORMATION WHEN YOU'RE MOST GOING TO WANT TO NEED IT.
HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT WHY TEXAS IS THE WORST AT THIS? I HAVEN'T, BUT THAT, THAT'S A FANTASTIC QUESTION, AND I THINK A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO WITH ALERT FATIGUE.
AND SO I, I THINK THERE IS WAYS THAT WE CAN BE BETTER, MORE JUDICIOUS, AND THE ALERTS THAT GO OUT, UH, CERTAINLY I'VE NOT SEEN A MESSAGE GO OUT THAT WASN'T IMPORTANT.
SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THOSE THRESHOLDS ARE, UM, AND MAKING SURE, AGAIN, THAT THE FOLKS KNOW IN THE COMMUNITY, IF THEY'RE GETTING AN ALERT, IT'S, IT'S A LIFESAVING ALERT.
SO AGAIN, THERE'S DIFFERENT REASONS THAT YOU CAN SEND OUT A WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT.
AMBER ALERTS PRETTY IMPORTANT, UM, NA OR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE IMPORTANT AS WELL.
I WOULD, I WOULD LOOK TO THEM TO WARN YOU OF A FLASH FLOOD BEFORE WE COULD ADD THAT HUMAN COMPONENT TO SEND YOU THE MESSAGE OURSELF.
BUT THEN THERE'S OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY ALERTS THAT, THAT, AGAIN, MAYBE WE CAN RECONVENE AND TALK ABOUT WHICH ONES REALLY MEET THAT THRESHOLD OF SENDING OUT A BLAST MESSAGE AT TWO IN THE MORNING, UM, BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD TEND TO OPT OUT OF IT AFTER THOSE.
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT WHAT OTHER STATES DO COMPARED TO WHAT TEXAS DOES AND WHAT THE DIFFERENCES MIGHT BE? A LOT OF IT HAS PERTAINING TO THE TYPE OF MESSAGING, OR EXCUSE ME, THE WORDING IN THE MESSAGING.
SO YES, WE'VE, WE'VE MET WITH INDUSTRY STANDARD EXPERTS WHO DO MESSAGING FOR FEMA AND OTHER AGENCIES AND REALLY CHANGE THE WAY WE CRAFT OUR MESSAGES, MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE VERY CLEAR, CONCISE AND LEAVE NO AMBIGUITY IN TERMS OF WHO WE ARE SENDING THE MESSAGE, WHAT THE MESSAGES FOR AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT DIFFERENT OUTREACH STRATEGIES.
UM, TEXAS IS TEXAS, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE'RE ALL INDEPENDENT AND WE DON'T NECESSARILY ALWAYS WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO, TO INTRUDE ON OUR PHONE.
UM, AND SO THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO COMBAT BECAUSE IF WE CAN'T CONTACT YOU, WE CAN'T ALERT YOU.
SO DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION,
UH, I REMEMBER IN JANUARY OF, OH, OF 23, UH, HOW PEOPLE SAID THEY WEREN'T GETTING ENOUGH INFORMATION, THE CITY, WE WENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND WE SAID, WE'RE GOING TO COMMUNICATE AND WE'RE GONNA COMMUNICATE CLEARLY, AND WE'RE GONNA COMMUNICATE OFTEN SO THAT PEOPLE, UH, DON'T FEEL THAT WAY.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT IN LAST COUPLE OF EMERGENCY TYPE SITUATIONS, I'VE BEEN VERY PLEASED WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT SAID, THANK YOU FOR US GETTING THE NOTICE.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING THIS HOPEFULLY BETTER AND BETTER, BUT YOU NEED THE PARTICIPATION OF FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A VALID QUESTION OF HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU LEARN, HOW DO YOU TALK TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS? HOW DO YOU CRAFT THIS IN SUCH A WAY WHERE PEOPLE WILL WANT TO EMBRACE IT, UH, SO WE CAN SAVE THEM? AND WHAT WOULD SHE SAY? OH, I'M SORRY.
WELL, I JUST WANTED TO DOUBLE CHECK ONE MORE TIME TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THIS.
SO THE WARNING ALERT SHOULD GO OUT TO EVERYONE.
IF YOU SIGN UP FOR WARN CENTRAL TEXAS, IT'LL GO, YOU'LL GET ALERTS FROM THEM AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANYTHING, THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO CHECK LIKE THE SETTINGS ON YOUR PHONE.
EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE IN THE SYSTEM.
SO WARREN, CENTRAL TEXAS, AGAIN, IS SUBSCRIPTION BASED AND USUALLY TO LANDLINES MM-HMM
SO IF YOUR LANDLINE NUMBER IS IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM, IT SHOULD GO TO YOU.
SO THE FOLLOW UP QUESTION WOULD BE, WHO IN THIS ROOM USES LANDLINES? SO IT'S, IT'S IF IT'S, IT'S REALLY DEPENDENT ON SUBSCRIPTION.
AND SO THAT WILL BE A TEXT AND AN EMAIL THAT WILL GO TO ANYONE WHO IS REGISTERED.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT REGISTERED, YOU WON'T GET THE WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS MESSAGE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS.
YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE A MOBILE DEVICE WITHIN RANGE OF WHATEVER CELL TOWERS THAT WE, THAT WE ARTICULATE, AND THEN YOU WILL GET THAT BLAST MESSAGE, THAT UNIQUE RINGTONE OR VIBRATION MEANT TO GET YOUR ATTENTION.
UM, AND SO IF YOU DON'T GET THAT, THAT'S A SETTING IN YOUR PHONE.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN RECEIVE THOSE PUBLIC SAFETY ALERTS.
AND AGAIN, IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE WARN CENTRAL TEXAS, IF YOU DON'T GET THE TEXT OR EMAIL, THEN THAT'S MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR THE SYSTEM.
IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS, YOU'RE GOING TO, BUT PROBABLY YOU WILL GET MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS AND EXPLAIN THAT.
YOU JUST SAID IT, BUT I WANTED TO WANT IT TO BE CLEAR.
WELL, SIR, UH, SO IT'S, IT'S EMAIL AND TEXT AND MORE FREQUENT, THERE'S LIMITATIONS WITH THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT.
WE CAN'T JUST SEND A DOZEN MESSAGES MEANT TO GET YOUR ATTENTION ALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
SO WE WOULD BE SENDING OUR LIFESAVING ALERT MESSAGE THROUGH WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT AND THEN ALL THE FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION.
SO IF WE'RE TELLING YOU TO EVACUATE THIS AREA DUE TO WILDFIRE AND WE'RE TELLING YOU WHERE THAT TEMPORARY ACCESS POINT
[00:20:01]
IS, OR ASSEMBLY POINT IS IN WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS, WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICES AND, AND JUST ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS WE CAN GO TO GET INFORMATION.AND SO THERE, THERE'S A, WE CAN BE A LOT MORE GENEROUS WITH THE INFORMATION, WHEREAS THIS IS JUST STRICT TIGHT ACTION AND I'M GOING, BUT IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE YOUR PHONE SET SO THAT YOU DON'T GET THOSE, YOU WON'T EVEN GET THOSE MM-HMM
AND I, I KNOW WE HAD THE FLOODING, WHETHER IT'S SANDY CREEK OR WHETHER IT WAS KERRVILLE PEOPLE SAYING, WELL, I HAD ALERTS ON MY PHONE AND IT STILL DIDN'T GET THE INFORMATION MAYBE THAT I NEEDED.
ARE, ARE STEPS ALSO BEING TAKEN TO A, AND I KNOW SOME THINGS ARE BEING DONE, BUT YES.
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO, TO HELP ADDRESS THAT? WELL, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT THERE'S A VERY INEXPENSIVE INVESTMENT PEOPLE CAN MAKE IN A WEATHER RADIO THAT IS NOT RELIANT ON WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE WIRELESS OR WEATHER RADIOS GET THAT MESSAGE AS WELL.
SO 25, $30 INVESTMENT, YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SAME COMPATIBLE SPECIFIC AREA MESSAGING CODING.
SO YOU'RE NOT GETTING ALERTS ALL THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
YOU'RE GETTING IT FOR YOUR ZIP CODE OR SURROUNDING AREAS, BUT THE, THE, THE WEATHER RADIO IS OLD SCHOOL AND IT WORKS.
SO THAT'S JUST, THAT COULD BE A BACKUP.
BUT THE WEATHER, I'M SORRY, THE, THE, THE, THE WEATHER RADIO, UH, IS THE SOLUTION THERE.
Y'ALL HAVE, UM, KIND OF SPOKEN TO THIS BEFORE, BUT MAYBE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE SKEPTICAL OR HESITANT TO SIGN UP IN AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY, WHAT IS KIND OF THE THRESHOLD FOR WHEN YOU WOULD SEND OUT? GOOD QUESTION.
WELL, UH, SO WARREN, CENTRAL TEXAS, WE CAN SEND YOU INFORMATION BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER.
SO, UM, THE MAYOR HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE ARE SENDING INFORMATION OUT EARLY AND OFTEN.
AND SO IT'S, IF, IF THERE IS AN INCIDENT THAT WE ARE AWARE, WE'RE GONNA SEND SOMETHING OUT TO YOU JUST TO LET YOU KNOW.
BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T KNOW AHEAD OF TIME, YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT PROTECTIVE ACTION.
RIGHT? SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA SEND YOU ENOUGH TIME TO ACT, BUT WHEN THERE'S NO TIME TO ACT, EXCEPT NOW, THAT'S WHAT THE WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM IS FOR.
UH, FOR, UH, THIS IS THE, THE INITIAL ROLLOUT.
I WAS CURIOUS, IT'S LIKE IF YOU, THERE'S CERTAIN METRICS THAT YOU WANT TO HIT, SAY FOR SUBSCRIBERS SAKE TO SEE HOW THE SYSTEM IS BEING ADOPTED AND IF THERE'S ALREADY PLANS FOR CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT MIGHT BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO WILDFIRE FIRES OR FLOODING OR, OR LIKELY SCENARIOS.
SO I, I, I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION BECAUSE AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO OUR PHILOSOPHY OF PLANNING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND NOT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO BY THOSE INTERACTIONS THAT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, WHAT THEIR INFORMATION NEEDS ARE, WHAT THEIR DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS ARE, WE CAN HONE IN ON CERTAIN COMMUNITIES WHERE WE FEEL AREN'T NECESSARILY GETTING THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO REGISTER FOR ALERTS.
SO, UH, WE CAN WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UH, COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS TO SPREAD THAT MESSAGE BECAUSE AGAIN, THE GOVERNMENT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE MOST TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION.
SO REACHING OUT TO OUR PARTNERS TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE, UM, REGISTERED AS POSSIBLE, THE GOAL WOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT RIGHT.
I, WE, WE'LL NEVER REALISTICALLY GET THERE, BUT WE'RE NEVER GONNA STOP TRYING.
DID Y'ALL SAY WHAT TIME IT'S GONNA HAPPEN ON THURSDAY? DAVID, DO YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION? I BELIEVE IT'S BETWEEN 10 AND 11 IN THE MORNING.
IS THAT, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD.
IT'S DIFFERENT BASED ON JURISDICTION, BUT SOMETIME BETWEEN 10.
BETWEEN 10 BETWEEN 10 AND 1230 IS SIX PASSES.
WEAM HERE BETWEEN 10 AND 1130.
APPRECIATE Y'ALL, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
THANKS FOR HELPING US GET THE MESSAGE OUT.