Not signed up for RAVE? Now’s time

    Mid-morning Wednesday offered an annual reminder during Nebraska’s Severe Weather Week that communication is vital.
    Hearing the tornado siren’s differing tone from the more recognized fire whistle during the annual drill is important, said County Emergency Manager Duane Dreiling.
    So is another alert system the county uses, called RAVE, an automated notification that sends a message to phones of approaching severe weather or other emergencies.
    But, you have to sign up for the free service.
    The signup is simple on the county’s website: chasecounty.nebraska.gov.
    Once there, find the list of offices and click on Emergency Manager. The Sheriff’s Office also lists the link.
    County residents can sign up more than one phone, and both cells phones and landlines will send out RAVE alerts.
    Dreiling said the system is automated, and once a warning regarding any type of weather, not just tornadoes, is issued by the National Weather Service, all those signed up for RAVE will get the alert.
    He noted RAVE can be directed to specific areas of the county; not every alert goes out to everyone.
    “It will also call only those in the direct path of a storm,” he noted.
    City officials in Imperial and Wauneta can also use RAVE for local situations in their specific communities, such as a broken water main or a law enforcement emergency.
    Dreiling encourages people not on the system now to sign up. Chase County had a relatively severe weather-free year in 2022, but that doesn’t mean 2023 will follow suit.
    Dreiling said Wednesday morning’s tornado siren drill went well. It was part of the statewide drill at the same time in towns and cities across Nebraska.
    The county’s seven sirens—three in Imperial,  two at Enders, one in Champion and one in Wauneta—were all sounded.