CodeRed emergency notification system

CodeRED is a high speed emergency and community notification system that has been in use in Hot Springs County since 2008. The system has been used frequently in the past month or so because of the variety of weather, flood and drinking water alerts and warnings sent out via phones. These warnings are not sent out frivolously.

This alert system can be used for more than natural disasters. In the case of a hostage situation or other dangerous event, residents of area houses can be singled out to receive notifications to stay safe in their homes during the dangerous situation. If there is a 911 outage, the alert can be sent to let residents know of a backup number to use for emergencies.

It is important to make sure all your home phone and cell phone numbers are registered even if you think you are already in the Hot Springs County CodeRed database. It is a good idea to do this once a year to be sure the information in the system is current.

To register go to http://www.hscounty.com and click on the CodeRed logo. You can then enter every phone number that resides at your address. If you click to receive text messages, make sure you name your cell provider when asked. If you are already registered, the system just updates the information without duplicating it.

Once you have registered your phones make two entries in your contacts for CodeRed for the numbers 866-419-5000 and 855-969-4636.

If you are registered for the CodeRed Mobile App those messages are triggered by warnings of severe weather from the local National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office and sent by CodeRed to those phone in the warning area. This app is particularly useful if you are traveling thru other counties and states. If a severed weather warning is issued by the NWS for that area a warning will be sent to your phone.

If you do not have a computer or have any problems getting registered with CodeRed contact Hot Springs County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon at 864-4649.