In a recent update from Tom Breckel, director of the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), it has been confirmed that a recent issue with the EMA alert feed has been successfully resolved.
Tuesday night, some users reported receiving repeated notifications of a TORNADO WATCH, while others did not receive the initial notice at all.
Breckel explained that the problem stemmed from a glitch in the feed used by their vendor to receive alerts issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) via a Common Alert Protocol. These alerts are transmitted as either NEW, CONTINUING, or EXTENDED, among other options.
For EMA alerts, users have the option to receive them during set times (6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) or “24/7” regardless of the time. However, it’s important to note that TORNADO WARNING alerts are transmitted regardless of the time of day.
When the initial TORNADO WATCH was issued, EMA noted that it was not received and immediately began working with the support team to address the issue. The feed was successfully fixed at 11:54 p.m., although this was too late for users who had their alerts set for delivery between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Users who had their alerts set for “24/7” received their first notice at 11:54 p.m., followed by repeated alerts every 10 minutes. EMA became aware of the issue when a user named “Scott” posted and tagged EMA in a Facebook post. After a short time and a few more repeated alerts, the issue was identified.
It was discovered that the “24/7” alert setting for TORNADO WATCH was set for “NEW,” “CON,” and “EXT,” with the “CON” setting being responsible for the repeated alerts. This has since been corrected, and users will no longer receive “CONTINUING” alerts every 10 minutes.
Breckel also expressed EMA’s gratitude to the community for their patience and understanding during this incident. He encourages users to contact EMA directly if they encounter any further issues or have any questions regarding their alert settings.
“If you would like to change your settings from any of the ‘24/7’ settings to something more daytime-friendly, please contact EMA at (937) 382-6673 during business hours (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and we will be happy to assist you.”
For further updates and information from Clinton County EMA, please visit its official website [www.cc-ema.org] or social media channels.
