Emergency antenna disabled

So we're all familiar with the Emergency Alert System, right? It's the thing that breaks into television and radio broadcasts to let us know about emergency situations, from explosions or terrorist attacks down to severe weather. Well, the local EAS system is on the blink right now — and, ironically enough, it was taken out by severe weather.

The antenna for the radio-based alert system is atop the 31-story Five Greenway Plaza, and it seems it was hit by lightning. "That has affected the stability of the system," Harris County Office of Emergency Management chief Francisco Sanchez told KHOU. The antenna needs repair now, but that's easier said that done: As Channel 11 notes, a replacement antenna isn't something you can carry in an elevator, so some heavy-duty equipment will likely have to be brought in. Though the alert system — officially called the Public Information Emergency System, or PIES — involves more than just the radio transmissions, they remain essential to getting information out in emergencies where the telephone system or other means of communication might be overloaded.

So what'll happen? Channel 11 doesn't say, but we feel sure the antenna will be repaired. In the meantime, nobody do anything stupid.