{"id":252,"date":"2018-09-22T20:34:36","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T20:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/?p=252"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:51:13","slug":"if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/","title":{"rendered":"If you’re perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm"},"content":{"rendered":"

A storm is brewing, threatening disaster. Your phone buzzes with an urgent message from Alert Durham warning you of chaos that lies ahead. But it closes with an odd request: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReply with YES to confirm receipt.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously, Alert Durham? There\u2019s no time to chat while preparing for an apparent apocalypse! Why does someone need to reply? <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
When you get a text message from Alert Durham, do you really need to reply?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same thing happens with the email alert. \u201cThis is an important message from Alert Durham!\u201d the message says. \u201cPlease click here to acknowledge receipt of this message.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alert Durham is a service of the city-county emergency office that provides text messages, emails and phone calls that warn about dangers such as flash floods, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.<\/span><\/p>\n

But why is it so nosey? Why does Durham need to know if people received the message? And do they ever answer? <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Jim Groves, director of Durham\u2019s Emergency Management Center, \u201cthe vast majority of folks don\u2019t respond.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Groves explained that the purpose of these messages is so that the notification system knows not to contact your other devices once you\u2019ve confirmed the receipt of one. So if you\u2019ve signed up for Alert Durham texts, emails, and calls, the email and call will be blocked if you reply \u201cYes\u201d to the text first. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"And don\u2019t worry if you\u2019ve replied with wisecracks. Groves assured The 9th Street Journal that the only texts Alert Durham processes are ones with the word \u201cYes,\u201d so if you\u2019ve been sending in longing messages about how emotionally exhausted you are from the exchange, Alert Durham has not been listening. <\/span><\/p>\n

Everbridge, the critical event managing platform that provides alert systems to Durham as well as several counties in the research triangle, has a vast network of call centers that make it reliable even throughout tough weather. <\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>company<\/span><\/a> began operations in 2002, in the wake of 9\/11, with the mission of notifying people of critical information throughout a disaster. Its alert system operates globally, and served a <\/span>crucial role<\/span><\/a> in emergency relief efforts throughout Hurricane Sandy and the Boston Marathon bombings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even though relatively few people click to confirm or text YES to reply, those that do avoid getting duplicate messages. And during the storms prompted by Florence last weekend, Groves said, \u201cthe system worked flawlessly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A storm is brewing, threatening disaster. Your phone buzzes with an urgent message from Alert Durham warning you of chaos that lies ahead. But it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[164],"class_list":["post-252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-government","tag-hurricane-florence","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nIf you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A storm is brewing, threatening disaster. Your phone buzzes with an urgent message from Alert Durham warning you of chaos that lies ahead. But it…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"9th Street Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daniela Flamini\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daniela Flamini\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daniela Flamini\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6\"},\"headline\":\"If you’re perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\"},\"wordCount\":414,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Hurricane Florence\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Local government\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\",\"name\":\"If you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If you’re perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"description\":\"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"9th Street Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg\",\"width\":869,\"height\":104,\"caption\":\"9th Street Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6\",\"name\":\"Daniela Flamini\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb38717cba1c9c064c1b91d627589ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb38717cba1c9c064c1b91d627589ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daniela Flamini\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/author\/daniela-flamini\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal","og_description":"A storm is brewing, threatening disaster. Your phone buzzes with an urgent message from Alert Durham warning you of chaos that lies ahead. But it…","og_url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/","og_site_name":"9th Street Journal","article_published_time":"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg"}],"author":"Daniela Flamini","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daniela Flamini","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/"},"author":{"name":"Daniela Flamini","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6"},"headline":"If you’re perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm","datePublished":"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/"},"wordCount":414,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg","keywords":["Hurricane Florence"],"articleSection":["Local government"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/","name":"If you're perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm - 9th Street Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg","datePublished":"2018-09-22T20:34:36+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-27T15:51:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/files\/2018\/09\/IMG_2678-300x191.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/22\/if-youre-perplexed-by-the-durham-alerts-reply-yes-to-confirm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If you’re perplexed by the Durham alerts, reply YES to confirm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","name":"9th Street Journal","description":"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization","name":"9th Street Journal","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","width":869,"height":104,"caption":"9th Street Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6","name":"Daniela Flamini","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb38717cba1c9c064c1b91d627589ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb38717cba1c9c064c1b91d627589ad9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daniela Flamini"},"url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/author\/daniela-flamini\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}