{"id":269,"date":"2018-09-26T20:02:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T20:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/9thstreetjournal\/?p=269"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:14","slug":"government-alerts-missed-some-residents-at-risk-for-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2018\/09\/26\/government-alerts-missed-some-residents-at-risk-for-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Government alerts missed some residents at risk for flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"
Before Hurricane Florence, officials at the Durham City\/County Emergency Management Agency had a simple goal: to alert people in low-lying areas when floodwaters were coming.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The agency made hundreds of automated calls and sent scores of text messages that said, \u201cYour business or residence has been identified as one that has previously flooded or may be at risk for flooding due to precipitation from Hurricane Florence. Please make evacuation plans for yourself and pets just in case the flood waters rise rapidly.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n But the messages failed to reach many people in the targeted areas. <\/span><\/p>\n After an inquiry from The 9th Street Journal, the agency acknowledged the calls and text messages didn\u2019t reach as many people as officials hoped. They said many residents didn\u2019t sign up for the Alert Durham service, had unlisted phone numbers or simply hung up when they received the automated calls.<\/span><\/p>\n Emergency Management Director Jim Groves said his department would work to improve the notification system. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf we can\u2019t reach the public or deliver the right message or get them to take the right protection action that we\u2019re recommending, we\u2019re not doing a very good job,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n