Severe Weather
Severe weather can be very frightening. Storms can produce strong winds, heavy rain, hail, and tornadoes. When a thunderstorm, hurricane, or blizzard becomes strong enough, a state of emergency may be declared. During weather emergencies, it is important to have a plan to keep you and your family safe. Planning ahead and practicing for weather emergencies can help prevent injuries that can happen during severe weather. Public Safety Lab provides a safe way to teach participants critical timing and vocabulary associated with severe weather events.
The Public Safety Lab Severe Weather Experience focuses on three key factors.
1. The importance of a family emergency kit
2. Having access to real-time weather alerts
3. Quickly moving to a safe place within your home
This experience places participants a few minutes in front of a severe, tornado warned storm. We employ help from local broadcasters to give participants a more immersive feel, especially in helping understand the location and timing of storms in your local area.
Participants start by tuning into the live weather broadcast. After tuning in, the participant shifts their focus to preparing their safety preparedness kit which is missing a few components that are scattered around the home.
Damaged Home
Severe Weather Safety Kit
As the prepardness kit is being gathered, there is a time component to the experience. At a certain point immediately after the prerecorded broadcast is completed, the power is lost to the home as the storm is picking up intensity. At this point, participants are prompted to quickly move to the identified safe location in the home.
As the sound and intensity picks up, the experience is faded to black with the participant "waking up" to a severely damaged home which they must safely egress from.