In 2014, Madison County’s Emergency Management service decided to provide the CodeRED system after an extensive and thorough evaluation of various alerting systems.
CodeRED was, they decided, the best fit for Madison County and it was incorporated into the emergency plans of the county.
The CodeRED system serves as the backbone of Madison County’s emergency planning and communications outreach to both citizens and county/city personnel by using the system capabilities to send telephone calls, text messages, emails and social media in an effort to effectively inform residents to protect life and property.
CodeRED, among other notification systems available, was selected for its unrivaled reliability and accuracy, as well as the system’s global use.
In addition, the CodeRED enrollment page provides residents with the opportunity to receive whichever severe weather warning they would like. With four storm types to choose to be notified about – tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and winter storm – residents have the ability to decide which storm they wish to receive a phone call, email alert or text alert for.
Other emergency notifications may include AMBER alerts, notifications of hazardous traffic or road conditions; boil water advisories or evacuation notices.
Residents are reminded that only warnings that impact their exact address will be notified because of advanced technology used to reduce false alarms.
When residents sign up with CodeRED, they have the ability to add as many phone numbers or email addresses they wish and can also add multiple locations to be notified for.
As CodeRED is a global emergency notification program, individuals who would like to keep a watch on out-of-state or out-of-country areas can do so.
All information provided to CodeRED is protected, as it is a service of the Emergency Communications Network, which takes the security and privacy concerns of those who register very seriously.
“Our goal at Madison County Emergency Management is: getting the right information to the right people at the right time,” said Emergency Management Director, Alan Whigham. With the CodeRED system, they can do just that. The group of people who need to access the information regarding a storm or warning will be able to get the alerts without disturbing other CodeRED users.
CodeRED subscribers will be able to receive important information within seconds of the message being launched. “People who rely on other means of notification, such as social media, radio or television will experience a delay in receiving what could be vital information,” said Whigham.
CodeRED is a free service and is offered to anyone who is connected to Madison County, either by work, personal property or by living in the county.
Visit www.madisoncountyfl.com and click the CodeRED icon to begin the process of signing up. Instructions are user-friendly and very easy to follow and users who create an account are able to come back at any time and change their listed information.
Those who require assistance or have questions about CodeRED are invited to contact Madison County Emergency Management at (850) 973-3698.