Emergency Siren Test Begins
The University has started an Alert Carolina emergency siren TEST. This is only a test. No action is required.
The University tests the sirens to remind everyone what to do if they hear them go off for a real emergency and to make sure the equipment works properly.
Anyone outside on or near campus is likely to hear the sirens during the test. The sirens will sound an alert tone in conjunction with a brief pre-recorded voice message. When testing is complete, a different siren tone and voice message will signal “All clear. Resume normal activities.” Click to hear samples of the alert and “all clear” tones.
The sirens sound only for a major emergency or an immediate safety or health threat such as:
- An armed and dangerous person on or near campus;
- A major chemical spill or hazard;
- A tornado warning for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area issued by the National Weather Service; or
- A different emergency, as determined by the Department of Public Safety.
Be prepared to go inside or seek shelter in an actual emergency. The sirens also will broadcast brief pre-recorded voice announcements with instructions.
When the sirens sound, the University also sends a text message to cell phone users who registered their numbers in the online campus directory. The University also communicates in an emergency using means including campus-wide email and voice mail (campus phones with land lines), the Adverse Weather and Emergency Phone Line, 843-1234 (recorded information), the University Access Channel (Chapel Hill Time Warner Cable Channel 4), and other campus or local media, and official University Twitter and Facebook accounts (which also activate social media for the Office of New Student and parent Programs and the Department of Public Safety).