Automated alerts come to Iowa

When floodwaters threatened Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last summer, city residents received automated phone calls telling them to evacuate.

As rising floodwaters threatened Fargo, N.D., this spring, automated calls directed volunteers to dikes in their neighborhoods that needed reinforcement.

Now residents of Council Bluffs and Fremont County, Iowa, could be alerted to severe weather such as tornadoes or thunderstorms just by answering their phones.

The two southwest Iowa communities recently contracted with the automated system CodeRed, which made those calls in Fargo and Cedar Rapids.

Council Bluffs has the emergency notification system up and running, and Fremont County officials plan to have it in place by July.

The system can be used to alert people to almost anything - emergency weather notices, school dismissals, power outages, even missing children.

"If this prevents one person from being injured in the county, I think it's worth it," said Mike Crecelius, Fremont County emergency management coordinator.

The system comes with an annual fee based partly on population. Fremont County will pay $11,250; Council Bluffs will pay $30,000.

Anyone listed in the white pages of the telephone book will automatically be placed on the call list. Residents can add unlisted or mobile phone numbers online or by phone.

By adding cell phones to the list, emergency notices will reach even rural residents who are out of earshot of city tornado sirens.

"If you've got a farmer out there in the field with his phone, he'll know," said Crecelius.

The computer-based system allows officials to contact people who live in a specific neighborhood or in the entire coverage area by highlighting an area on a map.

"If we had a child missing, we could go to the map, click on a point, draw a circle and only people in that area would get a phone call," said Council Bluffs Fire Chief Alan Byers.

Similar systems are used in Nebraska. Papillion has one that notifies residents of emergency situations by phone, e-mail or text message. North Platte implemented a Reverse 911 system in December that calls residents during emergencies.

Council Bluffs residents can sign up extra phone numbers or verify their participation in the system at www.cbfire.org or www.councilbluffs-ia.gov, or by calling 712-328-4672.

When the system is in place in Fremont County, residents can register at www.co.fremont.ia.us.

"I'm supposed to be looking out for the citizens of the county," said Crecelius. "I think this will do that."

• Contact the writer: 444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com

« Metro/Region

Share