In Alabama, the threat of severe weather is a year-round concern. Records show, in Alabama, the month of November has the third highest reported tornadoes. The Elmore County Commission and Emergency Management Agency (EMA) are proud to announce that the residents of Elmore County will now receive phone calls on their landline phone(s) anytime a tornado warning is issued for Elmore County. Using a mass notification system, anytime the National Weather Service (NWS) issues a tornado warning polygon for any part of Elmore County, the system will automatically call all landline phones within the polygon with an automated message about the tornado warning. The call taker will have the ability to acknowledge that they have received the warning message.
EMA Director Keith Barnett states “This system is a great enhancement to the all-hazard outdoor siren system. While it doesn’t replace a NOAA weather radio, it does help ensure that people inside homes and businesses get notified that a tornado is headed towards them.”
How it works: When the NWS issues a tornado warning polygon that touches Elmore County, the system automatically calls all landline phones that are within the polygon. The caller ID will show Elmore County EMA 334-512-9711. An automated message will start with, “This is an important message from the Elmore County Emergency Management Agency…” The system will log how many calls were made, how many phones were answered, and how many call takers acknowledged they received the warning message.
Residents can also download the Baron Alabama Saf-T-Net app, the Elmore County EMA app, or several other local weather apps to receive weather alerts on their cell phones. For more information about this service or other services provided by Elmore County EMA, please visit their website at www.elmorecoema.com or call 334-567-6451.
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