Emergency warning systems to be tested Thursday

The front office of the WKU Police Department on Aug. 26, 2019. The WKU Police Department has begun a complete transformation for the start of the fall 2019 semester. The renovations are meant to improve morale within the department, starting with cosmetic improvements.

Kelley Holland

The WKU Police will be conducting a test of the outdoor warning and text messaging alert systems on Thursday Oct. 15 at 10:15 a.m., according to an email from David Oliver, director of Environmental Health and Safety. 

The test will be in conjunction with the national Earthquake Awareness Exercise deemed the “Great American Shake Out”, Oliver stated in an email. 

“Tests like these are important to verify that our national emergency communications networks, including media outlets, community warning networks, etc. will function should a real emergency occur,” Oliver stated in the email. 

There are no additional actions that students need to take beyond verifying that the text alert was received.

If you are outdoors on the main campus, you should be able to hear the outdoor warning messaging. 

Students can visit https://www.wku.edu/emergency/communication.php to sign up for text alerts. 

For further questions regarding Emergency Preparedness at WKU, contact the department of environmental health and safety at (270) 745-2395 or the WKU Police Department at (270) 745-2548.

Kelley Holland can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kelleyaholland.