Denver making changes to its emergency alert systems after sounding false alarms

From text alerts to a tornado siren, the city of Denver broadcasted three accidental emergency alerts in six months.

"The trust is gone right now, that's what's hard," said Denver resident Marisa Saturno-Johnson.

CBS Colorado spoke with Saturno-Johnson after she took shelter with her husband and animals when the city's tornado sirens cued a false alarm earlier this month. 

"I am fearful that after 7, 10, 15 of these happening, we're not going to take it seriously enough," Saturno-Johnson added.

That prompted Denver's Office of Emergency Management to take action. 

"I want to know that we're getting our alerts expeditiously, but we're using them correctly," said Matthew Mueller, the department's executive director. 

Public safety notifications will now need additional approval. 911 will revert to mostly using a system residents have to opt in for. And for citywide alerts, only OEM will be authorized to send.

"To ensure that we have the appropriate level of oversight and our policies reflect using the appropriate tools for the appropriate emergency," said Mueller.

As for sirens, the city will get its cues from the National Weather Service.

"Making sure that our outdoor warning siren system is only activated for weather events when the National Weather Service has issued the appropriate warning," Mueller added.

And the last course of action is adding more training. The department believes these changes will help restore the public's trust.

"These changes that we are making, I think, are going to address the needs, and they'll send the appropriate alerts that go out for the appropriate emergencies," said Mueller.

To sign up for city notifications targeted to a specific location, click here.