CodeRed hopes to alert citizens

CodeRED, a new weather warning system, will be implemented in Oxford and Lafayette County.
The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a three-year contract with CodeRED’s operating company for approximately $21,000 this past Monday. This payment includes the company’s participation in the emergency notification system for the first year.
A CodeRED representative explained the program as having two main components: a weather warning system, available for Oxford or Lafayette County citizens who are interested in registering for weather warnings, and the local emergency alerts informing all area residents and published, available phone numbers in Lafayette County.
David Shaw, Lafayette County emergency management coordinator, said the alerts would only be used in case of an emergency.
“These messages will be sent only in extreme cases to the community,” he said.  “We won’t be sending out messages every day or bugging people unless it’s a true emergency.”
Elwyn Lopez, a senior broadcast journalism major, said the alerts could be a new addition to prior technological stepping stones.
“I think that more and more people are using cell phones for everything so this could be just a different add-on,” she said.
Emergency alerts may include an inmate escapee on the loose, a missing child and chemical spills. CodeRED will send out calls for severe weather such as severe thunderstorm warnings, flash flood warnings or tornadoes.
Davina Thompson, a sophomore biology major, said she thinks the system will help people prepare for adverse situations.
“I think the system will help keep people more safe and let them know in advance so they can do what they have to do to be safe,”  she said.
Shaw said he wasn’t sure if it is possible or how to opt out of emergency notifications, but in order to receive weather warnings, citizens must “opt in.”
“The CodeRED people will soon be setting up a link on our website where people can go to sign up,” Shaw said.
When signing up with a preferred contact number, citizens can register to receive weather warnings of their choosing. Users can choose to receive all three weather warnings or just one of them.
“Some people may just want to know there’s a tornado warning,” Shaw said. “Some might want to know all of them.”
Another aspect of CodeRED allows the county to form groups internally and send messages through the group.
“For instance, we can set up a group for the SWAT team or fire and rescue teams so we can notify members of that group that something is going on that they need to respond to,” Shaw said.
Lopez said she’s not sure how effective the system will be.
“I don’t know if it will have a huge effect or not because nowadays people attend to the news via their phones and internet anyways,” she said.
Thompson said she will use the alert system because of previous experience with detrimental weather.
“I will definitely be using it,” she said. “Last year we had a lot of tornadoes around here, so I think we would be safer.”
Shaw said it would take a few days before people can start taking advantage of the new program, but first everyone needs to register online.
The county’s website to register for weather warnings is www.lafayettecoms.com.