 The most important thing that you and your family can do to prepare for an emergency situation is to know the difference between a watch and a warning and know how you will be notified of hazardous conditions in the City of Mesquite.
WATCH:
Conditions are favorable for the development of a hazardous situation.
A watch always means that conditions are favorable. In order to issue a watch, there must be some amount of lead-time. Some hazards, hazardous materials spills for example, rarely provide any time in which to issue watches.
Recently in North Central Texas, the National Weather Service has started issuing Ozone Watches. Simply, conditions are favorable to produce poor air quality. When air quality becomes poor then an Ozone Warning is issued.
WARNING:
A hazardous condition exists. It is time to take immediate actions to protect yourself and your family.
Just like the WATCH situation, this can be used for any type of hazard that may affect residents in this city. The City of Mesquite may issue warnings as soon as on-scene responders verify assumptions, reports are received from other jurisdictions, multiple citizen reports help confirm suspicions, or other similar resources verify a hazardous condition.
When a warning is issued in your part of town, make sure that you have your family's Disaster Supply Kit and Family Emergency Response Plan in tow with you to the shelter, safe room, or to the car if an evacuation has been requested.
How will Mesquite residents receive information about watches and warnings?
Considering that watches require some lead-time, there is usually some type of media coverage about a potential hazard before there is any danger to Mesquite residents. For weather related events, the National Weather Service will issue watches over their weather radio network which most television and radio stations will rebroadcast.
The City of Mesquite is more appropriately equipped to issue warnings specifically for Mesquite. The best way that we can properly notify the majority of residents in Mesquite is using multiple systems for warning. We call the use of multiple warning devices the Mesquite Integrated Warning System or MIWS. This system uses the Outdoor Warning Sirens, Emergency Alert System of North Central Texas, AT&T Cable Override, KEOM Radio, and mobile emergency units to provide warning as a backup.
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Outdoor Warning Siren:
The City of Mesquite owns and maintains 16 outdoor warning sirens throughout the city. These are strategically placed with the assumption that individuals up to 2/3 of mile away from the siren can hear the warning. This system is not designed to alert people inside of their homes. It is assumed that people inside the home will have one of the other warning devices either on or in a "ready" state.
Please Note: These sirens never provide an "all clear" message. If you hear these sirens, go in and find out why they are sounding. Generally, these systems are tested on the first Wednesday of each month at 12:00 noon. If severe weather or another hazardous condition exists, the City of Mesquite will not test their system. If a decision is made to test the system on another day, Mesquite officials will notify residents of the date and time through public service announcements on KEOM radio. |
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Weather Radio:
The NOAA weather radio is a great tool for families all of the time, but especially useful when all are sound asleep. This is known as a tone-alert radio. This unit is always on when supplied with power. The National Weather Service will send out a tone that will turn the radio on so that instructions and messages can be given. The watches and warnings broadcast on this radio are issued on a county by county basis.
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AM/FM Radio:
All cities and counties in the DFW Area have access to the Emergency Alert System of North Central Texas. When one of these cities is concerned about a hazardous condition, they contact either KSCS 96.3 FM or WBAP 820 AM who will in turn broadcast emergency messages. Other radio stations are required to receive these warnings but are not required to rebroadcast them although many will do anything to assist with public safety.
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Television Media:
Research indicates that more than 75% of the public receives watch and warning messages from the television media. Like the radio stations, there is no law or requirement for the television station to pass on emergency warning information or instructions.
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KEOM Radio:
The City of Mesquite has access to Mesquite Schools Radio, KEOM 88.5 FM. This station is located in Mesquite and has informally agreed to provide emergency news and instructions for events that affect Mesquite residents. This is the most likely place that the City of Mesquite will provide additional information to residents for the recovery from a disastrous situation.
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