Today’s exercise is a DRILL, not a real emergency. No evacuations will be ordered.
Special red “Test Today” signs are posted at key locations around campus, HSU’s clock tower bells will sound from 11:45 a.m. until noon and registered cell phones will buzz with simulated text messages.
The same signs, bell ringing and text messaging would be used in the event of a real emergency.
In that case, University authorities would encourage everyone to exercise caution and use three additional sources of information: via the web at www.humboldt.edu/emergency, by telephone recording at 707/826-INFO (4636) and by tuning in KHSU 90.5 FM.
Maximum use of these sources in today’s test will enable campus administrators to evaluate the Emergency Alert System’s capacity and improve its operation as appropriate.
At the conclusion of the drill, comments on the system’s operation and effectiveness can be submitted at a dedicated web address, response@humboldt.edu.
Instructions for registering cell phones to obtain emergency text messages are available at http://www.humboldt.edu/emergency. Almost 3,000 users have registered since access was brought online in Fall 2007.