There’s an active tornado watch in several counties around the CTCOG region this morning. What can you do to prepare? When should you take shelter? How close is the storm?
The best plan for safety is avoiding the danger, but you need to know when hazards exist in the first place! That’s why you should register for CodeRed’s alert system. It’s a n emergency notification system that sends out automated email or text message alerts based on your home address, or your mobile phone’s location. Alerts include weather events like floods and severe storms, or other emergency notifications sent out by local law enforcement agencies. However, you won’t get these alerts automatically – you have to opt-in by signing up on the CodeRED website.
The CodeRED system provides regional emergency management agencies the ability to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas, entire communities, selected groups, or the entire region.
The CodeRED system was selected for our seven counties (Bell, Coryell, Hamilton, Milam, Mills, San Saba) in order to provide individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the database; this is an extremely important feature. Citizens who previously registered their phone number with a different emergency notification provider (for example, through their city) must register with the new CodeRED system in order to be included.
Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number, additional phone numbers and email contacts can be entered as well. All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.