The Department of Emergency Management announced toward the end of November that the city’s Outdoor Public Warning System is shutting down for upgrades for up to two years. You probably know it as the siren that goes off every Tuesday at noon. Francis Zamora, director of external affairs at the Department of Emergency Management explains how the tests used to work, why the system needs to be upgraded in this way, why it will take so long and how residents can expect to be informed of impending emergencies without the siren.
“This past Tuesday, the test was late. So many people on social media said, ‘why was the test late, it was supposed to be the last one!’ Well, guess what? There was a system error. Because the system is old and aging, it is prone to system errors, so that’s one of the reasons why we are upgrading the system is to make sure it’s reliable in the event of an emergency.” — Francis Zamora
A segment from our radio show, “Civic.” Listen daily at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on 102.5 FM in San Francisco.