Video: West Point Code Red Emergency Notification System

WEST POINT, Miss.(WCBI)—No one is exempt from severe weather but having a plan and an active warning system can make the world of difference.

For the city of West Point that’s just what they hope to do. The Board of Selectmen meet Tuesday night and renewing the code red contract is up for discussion.

” It’s important because it saves lives and it puts our community on the edge of modern technology and if that saves lives then it’s worth it,”said West Point Mayor Robbie Robinson.

Code red is an emergency notification system designed to warn residents potentially deadly weather is on the way.

Toby Sanford works with Golden Triangle Planning and Development District. He says the most recent severe weather worked as an eye opener for several area counties.

” An F4 tornado hit Winston County April 28 2014 from that and that devastation and destruction they said we need something more we need to be able to warn residents faster,”said G.I.S. Manager.

Code red could cost certain areas a pretty penny but that’s not the case for most of the golden triangle.

“What code red offered for the 7 counties was by population they came in with an offer that was originally around 19 cents a person and after negotiating with them and working around they got it down to about 16 cents a person,”said Sanford.

“This doesn’t cost individuals anything the city government and the county government pay for it and our appropriation annually is 1,862 dollars which pans out for the city of West Point as 16 cent per person which is a very inexpensive annual appropriation to save lives,”said Robinson.

Sanford says with weather being so unpredictable systems like code red almost become a necessity.

“You need to be proactive and not reactive. In this kind of situation we can not predict the weather we do not know when bad storms are going to happen or if there is going to be bad cycles but since we are proactive we are able to warn the residents in the county in faster time then we would have been able to other wise,”said Sanford.

Visit your local 911 center to see if your county carries the system. If you don’t have internet access you can sign up for code red notifications by filling out an information form. The current Code Red Contract Expires march 31st 2017.