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Too many flood warning calls could spur change in the system

Flood warnings sent by Lycoming County’s Emergency Management Agency are planned to be updated after residents received numerous phone calls into Tuesday morning.

County officials will be looking into changing current protocols with the county’s newest alert system, which sent phone calls to county residents every time warnings were updated concerning flooding in the area.

The National Weather Service in State College, as well as the Emergency Management Agency, received calls throughout the day on Tuesday from county residents saying their landlines had been called as early as 4 a.m.

“I believe the warnings are very helpful,” said Mike Clementoni, of Hughesville. “But we had eight other calls during the night. I think it’s a great idea, but to continue (into the morning), something is wrong.”

The “Swift911” system the county uses receives warnings from the National Weather Service and calls local numbers to spread the information, according to Dorman.

But officials didn’t expect warnings to persist throughout the night on Monday.

“We started it two years ago. In those two years, it just hasn’t been tested too many times. We haven’t had many water events,” Dorman said, apologizing to county residents who were kept awake by the calls. “Because of the protocol and the way the warnings work, if the warnings change through the evening, they reissue the warning. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.”

Dorman said the agency is looking at finding a middle ground with the alert system that will help keep people in danger of flooding informed, but do so without sending numerous notifications in the early morning.

The agency’s initial attempt to fix the problem, according to Dorman, was to change the system to send only flash flood warnings, which he said should alleviate some of the problem.

“It may change the people receiving it,” Dorman said. “Flash floods are less predictable and more of an emergency. We are hoping that may change things a little bit.”

Both the National Weather Service and the county also send text notifications during emergencies and for those residents who want to unsubscribe from the county’s emergency service, he suggested going on Lycoming County’s website for the Department of Public Safety and turning on cellphone notifications, which can be much quieter.

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