Northern Nevada Public Alerts and Warnings –
No Rockets Please
A Presentation With
Aaron Kenneston, CEM
Washoe County Emergency Manager
March 14, 2018
Public safety officials in Northern Nevada devised a unique early warning system that was tested in 1964. It culminated in 51 rockets being fired from 18 locations throughout the City of Reno and surrounding Truckee Meadows – What could possibly go wrong????
Everything as it turned out. During the test, one of the trucks used to launch the rockets suddenly exploded. The blast propelled metal parts through storefronts and into office buildings. Windows were blown out of the City Hall and the Public Library. The area of downtown Reno was littered with glass and debris. Elsewhere across the Truckee Meadows errant rockets ignited fires, and two Fire Stations were also damaged by explosions. No serious injuries to citizens were reported, but one public safety worker was hospitalized. Amazingly, local bartenders indicated that their patrons were unfazed by the event. An insurance adjuster was quoted as saying “When things happen in Reno, they happen in a big way!” Of course, public outcry put an end to this citizen alerting technique.
Now, aren’t you glad that Aaron Kenneston is now at the helm as Washoe County’s Emergency Manager!
In a very informative presentation to the National Security Forum, Aaron explained the ins and outs of Washoe County’s current emergency alert system and encouraged all of us to sign up and be alert. He also reminded us that “citizen alerts must use a common language, be easily understood, and accessible to residents and guests alike”…and hopefully, not explode when used.
By partnering with the Broadcasters Association, Nevada has implemented a robust public communication system for hazard warnings and preparedness messages including “See Something, Say Something” and “Make A Plan, Assemble A Kit, Stay Informed.”
A reverse dialing system implemented by Nevada jurisdictions as part of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS) also allows officials to send a digitally recorded message to thousands of local landline numbers and visitors tuned in to local television and radio stations in a designated area in a very short period of time.
Aaron recognizes that to be truly effective our Public Information/Public Warning system must keep up with communication technologies. This is a major challenge as fewer and fewer of us stay at home watching broadcast television, use telephone landlines, and are instead constantly on the move, with only mobile phones and internet communication platforms. In addition, in order to avoid warning and alert fatigue, Washoe County’s citizen alert system needs to track everyone who is in immediate danger from a specific hazard in our area and not those of us who may be vacationing on a beach in Hawaii.
Washoe County addresses this through a mobile phone registry that knows when you are in the area. Don’t miss the action, sign up NOW at: http://www.readywashoe.com
And then there are some truly notable EAS missteps including warnings about inbound missiles to Hawaii, a tsunami in New England, and even zombies on the march in Upper Peninsula Michigan. In the end, emergency warnings are only as effective as the brains behind the push button and I for one am very grateful that Aaron is the one with his hand on the button!
Responding to several timely and important questions during the discussion, Aaron explained the nuances of the reverse dialing system, mobile registry and 211 and 311 call system. For more information about these systems check out the above website.
A peek inside Aaron’s sleepless nights, revealed that his top scenarios for emergency alerts in Washoe County are winter floods and avalanches, wildfires, infrastructure disruptions following earthquakes, and accidents involving toxic industrial chemicals being transported on local interstates. As of now, he does not lose much sleep worrying about zombies or even North Korean missiles. That said he makes sure Northern Nevada emergency responders are coordinated and prepared to protect us from a range of threats through a robust set of emergency management training and exercises. Multihazard planning scenarios include biological, chemical and radiological attacks, national and regional cyber infrastructure attacks, earthquakes, and extreme atmospheric river storm events.
Lest anyone wonder what happens if all our electronic communications become obsolete in the event of a large-scale electromagnetic pulse event that knocks out our communication systems, Aaron is even prepared to rely on our local and very active network of ham radio operators to get the word out. So rest easy, Aaron’s got this one…he just needs all of us to do our part to be alert, stay informed, and watch out for those rockets.
Aaron Kenneston, leads planning, training, mitigation, response, and recovery actions for all-hazard emergencies including natural disasters and human-caused events. He manages the Northern Nevada Alert System from the impressive Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC) on Spectrum Blvd in Reno. A long-time Nevada resident, he served on active duty in the Army National Guard for nearly 25 years, retiring as a Colonel. He also served on the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee and leads several Task Forces for the State Homeland Security Commission. Both a student and a practitioner of emergency management, Aaron is a graduate of both the Army and Air Force Command and Staff Colleges and the National Emergency Management Executive Academy.
Click the link below to view Aaron’s Presentation