Video: Some Communities Turn to Code Red for Severe Weather

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UNION COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)-We are no stranger to severe weather here in Mississippi. And with the spring just around the corner local communities are trying to spread the word about weather alert systems they offer in their area.

Mississippi weather is know for producing tornadoes especially during the warmer months. We talk with one county who has been using a specific notification system to see how it’s working in their area.

Severe Weather is no stranger to our area. After seeing the April 2011 tornadoes destroy many counties, some North East mississippi communities looked for better ways to inform their residents of severe weather.

“We use code red notification system for weather warning which is tied in with the national weather service as soon as the national weather service issues a tornado warning it will automatically send a text or call your cell phone or land line telephone or send you an email,” says Curt Clayton.

To sign up for Code Red in your area all you need to do is log onto the Three Rivers Planning District website where it will pull up all the counties who offer the notification system.

After you click on your county a page will pop up where you will be able to fill out the proper information. You will then be able to receive texts messages and emails directly to your phone which will alert you about any severe weather or alerts pertaining to your area.

New Albany resident Kay Wicker says Code Red was a simple process to keep her family safe.

“Well I live out in the county. We don’t have any kind of weather alarm systems out there so I wanted to have some sort of system where I keep my family safe,” says Kay Wicker.

Wicker says the program is easy for anyone to use no matter your computer skills.

“All I did was go online and registered myself and then I had it do a test call and it would ring my home phone and cell phone,” says Wicker.

After one year of joining the Code Red alert system, Itawamba County has only seen twenty-five percent of their residents sign up. Clayton says the lack of publicity could be the cause of low numbers.

“I’m going to say the word hasn’t got out that the counties has it. We had a two or three day sign up at different locations and different functions we have had here in the county,” says Clayton.

Categories: Local News

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