People who are what? Is that a word to describe people who value knowledge? [The only phrase he had heard a lot when he was a kid was that he had his nose buried in books.]

I'm sure it's an advantage that we are not from here. We might spot something different easier.
If they know about such a system they might share what they do about it and they could tell us if it is still working. It could be possible that since the last storm it had stopped working.