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County to test CodeRED WednesdayLUMBERTON, Nov 28, 2011 (The Robesonian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Robeson County will be using its new CodeRED Emergency Notification system on Wednesday to call residents and businesses throughout the county to promote the automated severe-weather alerting system. The calls will begin at 10 a.m. and continue through the afternoon until all of the numbers already included in the data base have been exhausted. The city of Lumberton has also announced that is will be partnering with CodeRED. CodeRED is a 911 and weather-warning system that provides county officials the means to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas of the entire county. Its uses include the ability to automatically send phone, text, or email messages to those living in an area under an emergency threat. The message that will be delivered Wednesday directs those receiving the calls to go to the Robeson County website to enter the CodeRED system, where they can select the types of warnings they are interested in receiving. Recipients of the calls must add their personal information so that they can receive weather-warning calls. "All individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our web site and add contact information, including cellular phones and other non-traditional phones, email and text addresses to be used by the CodeRED system," said Mattie Caulder, the county's assistant director of Emergency Management. "If your contact information is not in the database you will not receive a call." Individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, recently changed their phone number, use a cellular phone exclusively, or have VoIP phones (such as Vonage as their primary number) should be sure to register, she said. Caulder said that businesses and individuals should log onto the county's website at www.co.robeson.nc.us and follow the CodeRED link in the middle of the page to the "CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment." Those without Internet access can supply contact information by calling the Emergency Management office at (910) 671-3150 weekdays between 8:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. Required information includes first and last name, street address, city, state, zip code and primary phone number. Additional phone numbers, email addresses, and text numbers can also be entered into the system. Caulder said that there are already 48,199 numbers included in the system; as of early last week, 1,651 were registered to receive severe weather-warning alerts. Lumberton has recently partnered with the county to add CodeRED weather warning service for its residents. This no-charge update will allow message recipients to easily identify calls coming through the systems. Caller ID will read Emergency Communications Network, or (866) 419-5000 for CodeRED calls. For CodeRED weather warning calls, either Emergency Communications Network, or (800) 566-9780 will appear on Caller ID displays. "This new update to our existing system will allow Lumberton residents to receive severe weather warnings if they so choose," said Mitchell Pate, Lumberton's director of Emergency Services. "Residents can simply dial the number displayed on their Caller ID to hear the last message delivered. This will greatly reduce the number of inbound inquiries handled by our office and will offer residents an immediate replay of the message." Residents who are not sure if they are included in the system's database should log onto the city's website, www.ci.lumberton.nc.us,. and follow the link to the "CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment" page. Lumberton residents without Internet access should call the city's Emergency Services Department at (910) 671-3946 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide their information over the phone. ___ (c)2011 The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) Visit The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) at www.robesonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |