After a tornado injured 13 people and destroyed multiple buildings in Athens County last September, an Ohio University student group is carrying out its plans to better warn students about severe weather.
OU’s chapter of the American Meteorological Society is setting up 20 radios in highly populated areas of campus. The radios are connected to a weather station in Charleston, W.Va.
The radios will sound whenever there is a warning or watch announced for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, snowstorms and other severe weather in Athens County, said Kyle Clem, a senior studying meteorology and vice president of OU’s chapter of the meteorological society.
“We’ve been trying to do this for the past three years, but every time we’ve tried to do this in the past, we’ve been turned down,” he said.
Clem added that the group received a different response after the tornado and thunderstorms in September. “That was the event that got the ball rolling.”
The radios are one of several emergency alert systems OU has considered using, said Jill Harris, emergency programs coordinator.
The new provost and vice president for Finance and Administration are the reason the initiative is happening now, she said.
Each radio cost $35.99, and the funding for them came from the provost’s office, Harris said. The total cost is about $720.
Ann Fidler, chief of staff to Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit, agreed that the severe weather this past fall was the turning point.
“Maybe we’d gotten a little complacent,” Fidler said. “Typically, we don’t have weather that severe very often. It was a good wake-up call.”
The public alert radios, produced by Ion, Inc., are being placed in some dining and residence halls as well as Ping Student Recreation Center, The Convo and Alden Library.
Although the radios are being set up in offices, they also have battery capabilities and can be transported outside during sporting events or similar occurrences, Clem said.
Of the 20 radios bought, 12 were placed at the beginning of this week, and the rest should be set up by next week, he said.
The radios’ first test run occurred earlier this week when a tornado watch was called for Athens County Tuesday.
The radio set up in The Convo worked perfectly during the watch, said Jason Farmer, assistant athletic director and director of facilities for The Convo, whose office houses the device.
“(The radios are) an extra level, an extra piece of communication; it can’t hurt,” Farmer said. “We won’t know the true benefit of this until we have time to think about it and develop procedures, but I don’t think anyone could view it as a bad thing.”
rm279109@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCampus
