Western has planned a test of its emergency weather siren between Tuesday and Thursday, Aug. 26-28, to ensure the system’s effective operation in warning campus and the surrounding community of severe weather situations.
If a real weather emergency occurs during this testing period, additional messaging will be communicated through other channels such as Western’s homepage and social media channels.
In 2012, Western installed a city-first emergency Whelen omni-directional weather siren on the roof of Alumni Hall. This summer, the university added a second siren to the campus system. These sirens can be heard on campus and a few kilometres into the community.
In the case of a real weather emergency, the tone would be followed by voice commands indicating a need to take immediate action and seek shelter.
A stretch of southern Ontario including London is known to experience tornadoes, such as the one that devastated the town of Goderich in August 2011 and hit Grand Bend earlier this summer. In the case of weather emergencies, early warning tools accompanied by comprehensive emergency plans increase public safety.
To find out more about Western’s Emergency Weather Siren and what to do in an actual acute weather situation, visit the Severe Weather Siren webpage.