AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The Texas Division of Emergency Management is holding a statewide test of local alerting systems on April 2 to evaluate the effectiveness and functionality of public warning tools.
According to TDEM officials, the test is a part of TDEM’s commitment to “working with Texas communities to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters and emergencies throughout the state.” Officials noted that a designated testing window has been established for local jurisdictions to utilize their primary, alternate, and contingency systems to allow for verification of continuity within alerting local processes.
“Regular training and testing of public warning systems builds readiness before disaster strikes and is an important component of community safety,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. “Conducting drills to reaffirm procedures, promote confidence in technological tools, and identify potential shortfalls is key to ensuring these systems operate with precision, accuracy, and timeliness when they are needed the most.”
AAA Texas: Gas prices continue to spike for third week
TDEM noted that it has requested participation from designated local alerting authorities, local emergency management programs, school districts, primary and secondary education programs, college and universities, councils of government, river authorities, sovereign tribal nations, law enforcement agencies, and any other entities with emergency alerting capability. TDEM also requested that participating organizations share an update with state emergency management officials after completion of the drill…