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Raymore staff outlines multi-layered policy for outdoor siren activation; no all-clear tone or text alerts
Summary
City emergency management and police staff described a four-level redundancy for siren activation that authorizes the emergency management director or police chief to activate sirens, and dispatch to turn them on if senior staff are unavailable; the city does not use an "all clear" siren or an "all-clear" text alert.
Raymore City staff on Monday described the city's current protocol for outdoor weather sirens and emphasized redundancy intended to avoid delayed activations seen elsewhere.
Staff member Murdoch told the council the city has had an activation protocol in place since February 2016 that creates four levels of redundancy. The policy authorizes the emergency management director, Mister Baldwin, or the chief of police, Chief Wilson, to sound the sirens. If those officials are unavailable, the protocol authorizes dispatch (down to the dispatch supervisor) to automatically activate the sirens when a tornado warning covers any portion of Raymore or Lake Winnebago, which Raymore covers with its system.
Murdoch said the city does not issue an "all clear" siren and generally does not send an "all-clear" text message. Staff explained that the siren is intended as a prompt for residents outdoors to seek further information and shelter, not as an ongoing status update. Council members and staff discussed how modern, moving tornado-warning polygons and localized alerts make the traditional "all clear" confusing; staff said media and the National Weather Service protocols also affect public understanding.
Council members asked about secondary measures historically used (for example, officers using vehicle sirens in sparsely covered areas). Staff said vehicle-based notification was used in some past situations where siren coverage was limited but that current siren coverage and trained storm-spotter deployments reduce the need for that practice. Staff reiterated that if the sirens need to be sounded, multiple authorized personnel and dispatch can trigger them.
