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Showing posts with the label alert

NYC transit agency pulls the brake on Twitter service alerts

The transit authority that runs subways, commuter trains and buses in New York City is giving up on a system that sent automated alerts about service disruptions through Twitter NEW YORK -- Shortly after midnight Thursday, several New York City subway trains slowed to a crawl as emergency crews tended to a person discovered on the tracks in lower Manhattan. The delays were flagged for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s rail control center, where a customer service agent typed up a straightforward warning for early-morning riders to consider alternate routes. But while the message was quickly posted to the MTA’s website and app, the alert never made it to the subway system's Twitter account, with its 1 million followers. The agency’s access to the platform’s back-end, officials soon learned, had been suspended by Twitter without warning. It was the second such breakdown in two weeks and the reaction inside the MTA was swift. By Thursday afternoon, senior executives agreed t...

Violent tornado outbreak possible as major storm leaves millions on alert

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Over 76 million people across 31 states are on alert for severe weather, including blizzards, strong winds, tornadoes, hail, heavy snow. Rare high-risk tornado warnings have been issued Friday for parts of six states -- Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee -- as a major storm leaves millions in the Heartland at risk from potentially violent, long-track tornadoes. Areas at risk of strong tornado es include St. Louis; Davenport, Iowa; Peoria, Illinois; Paducah, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Tupelo, Mississippi. Strong storms will begin to fire up around 3 p.m. in Iowa, Illinois and Arkansas. Then, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., strong, long-track tornadoes could develop from Iowa to Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.    Then from 5 pm to 10 pm these long-track, potentially violent tornadoes EF4 to EF5 could develop from Iowa to IL, MO, TN, AR and MS ABC News Among those at risk for tornado es is an area that was hit by dead...