NEWS

Monroe Co. testing new emergency notification system

Jon Hand
Staff writer
Monroe County’s Emergency Communications Department will be testing the “CodeRED” 911 emergency telephone notification system on Thursday.

If you get a phone call, text message or email from Monroe County's Emergency Communications Department on Thursday, don't panic — the world is not coming to an end.

The message you will receive on your computer, mobile phone or home phone is a test of the county's new "CodeRED" 911 emergency telephone notification system.

The system will be used to notify residents of important public safety information such as natural disasters, missing persons and criminal activity in specific areas.

"Local emergency telephone notification systems are a proven and successful way to disseminate critical information to area residents during emergencies," County Executive Maggie Brooks said in a release. "Getting information into the hands of those who need it can be difficult, but this technology gives us the ability to keep residents informed and safe. (The) testing will ensure that this system will be ready in the event of an emergency."

Starting Thursday, a pre-recorded message will inform residents that the call is a non-emergency test of the CodeRED system.

Residents will be encouraged to register alternate phone numbers and email addresses to ensure they receive emergency notifications.

CodeRED is replacing the Hyper-Reach Emergency Telephone Notification System that was previously used to relay important public safety information to the public.

Contact information for those who previously registered with Hyper-Reach has been transferred to the new system. Telephone numbers connected to hard-wired home phones already have been registered with the system through the phone companies.

JHAND@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/jonhand1

To register

To sign up for alerts, go to www.monroecounty.gov and click "Register My Cell Phone With 911" under the "How Do I" banner.