UI Hawk Alert system lags in some areas

Thankfully, Wednesday morning's tornado siren was just a test.

Around 10 a.m. the sirens sounded throughout Iowa City, but one University of Iowa employee said he didn't receive the Hawk Alert saying it was a test on his university e-mail account until roughly 70 minutes later.

Michael Graham, a chef at the university, said he received alerts to both his cell phone and personal e-mail account, but the university account lagged behind.

This means that students who rely solely on their university e-mails for alerts may get those emergency notices a bit later than others.

UI spokesman Tom Moore explained the timing of the Hawk Alert system has been a technological issue since it was initiated a few years ago. Due to the high volume of recipients on the list – which includes personal e-mails, university-wide e-mails, and cell phone messages – the system takes a while to send all the responses out.

Moore said the university is still looking into a better solution so all students can be alerted at relatively the same time, but noted that he did not know the specifics of what changes were under way.