• BigMoe@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Found this explanation,quoted from the writer:

    Listen carefully—that’s eight short blasts. I asked a NorthWestern Energy worker what catastrophe would trigger such a warning. Dam failure, he said. Of course. This was on Ryan Island just downstream of Ryan Dam. (Ed Kemmick/Last Best News)

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It doesn’t have to be a failure, sometimes just opening a spillway is enough to flood certain islands. I’ve seen a video (probably Tom Scott, but not sure) of a dam where the spillway is opened every day to show tourists what the downstream river looked like before it was constructed.

    • TurnItOff_OnAgain@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I know what you’re thinking: “Did he hear eight blasts or only seven?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being as you’re supposed to evacuate the area, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?

  • NABDad@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The place where I work has an emergency alert public address system. I heard them test it once. It sounded a bit like the first part of the tripod sound from War of the Worlds:

    https://youtu.be/jzY099ihULs

    I think it wouldn’t take more than a couple blasts from that before I’d evacuate something.

  • bleistift2@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    While we’re all wondering what happens at 7 or 9 short blasts, I’m asking how a blast could even be long.

  • vortic@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    What is this for? I think it says NorthWestern Energy but am not sure. If that’s right, maybe it is under a dam’s spillway and they use eight short blasts to announce a release of water?

  • xia@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    8? Are there other codes for 7 & 9, that we need to be counting? What if we were sleeping and unsure of how many blasts we heard? :)

  • Blackout@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Whenever Im in this situation I just float up to around 1000ft and wait for all the screaming to stop before coming back down.

    • kase@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Where are you running to? It’s an island

      E: Nevermind, I’m an idiot. You’re probably running to a boat or something lol. Have a nice day

    • Ann Archy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Why? There’s plenty of time. If there was any danger at two blasts, they would have said so! You can hang out for a bit longer no worries.