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:
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)
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.
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?
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?
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