Many Delaware tornado victims had no warning. Why did the emergency alert system fail?

Shannon Marvel McNaught, Delaware News Journal
·2 min read
11
The aftermath of a tornado swept through the Greenwood area on April 1, 2023.

Many of the victims of the April 1 EF3 tornado that damaged dozens of homes in southern Delaware last weekend, killing one resident, had no warning, despite an emergency alert sent by forecasters.

The National Weather Service's Wireless Emergency Alert was issued at 6:01 p.m., but it was not broadcast to parts of Sussex and Kent counties, said Maureen O'Leary, a spokesperson with the National Weather Service in response to questions from Delaware Online/The News Journal.

"We are investigating the root cause of the issue," she wrote.

The tornado damaged over 60 homes and other buildings in the Bridgeville, Greenwood and Ellendale area and killed 78-year-old Daniel Bawel. It was the first EF3 tornado in Delaware since 1961, and Bawel's death was the first caused by a tornado in Delaware in 40 years.

More: 'Everything's gone': Victims and witnesses recount Greenwood-area tornado

Wireless Emergency Alerts automatically sent to cellphones

Wireless Emergency Alerts do not require signup and are automatically sent to cellphones in the area of an emergency. They are "broadcast using radio-like technology from cell towers in, and sometimes around, the actual warning area," according to the National Weather Service website.

But in advance of last weekend’s severe weather, "portions of northern Sussex and far southern Kent" did not receive the alerts, according to the National Weather Service.

While the April 1 alert was not issued to cellphones, it was successfully distributed via the service's Emergency Alert System (on TV and radio) and other outlets, according to O'Leary.

More tornado coverage: Follow Sussex tornado's 14.3-mile path on our map. Homes and lives wrecked in 20 minutes.

"We recommend that individuals have multiple ways to receive weather forecasts and warnings," she wrote. "Including local media outlets, local emergency alerting services, NOAA Weather Radio, and third party applications."

Delaware does not have sirens or any other sort of tornado warning system, according to Delaware Emergency Management Agency spokesman John Peterson. The agency is working with the National Weather Service to determine why Wireless Emergency Alerts were not received by tornado victims.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Emergency alerts were not received by many Delaware tornado victims