SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Atlantic City is encouraging residents and visitors to register for the city’s new alert system that sends notifications for anything from severe weather to unexpected street closures.
People can sign up on the city’s website, but the system can send to anyone, registered or not, in the event of a tropical storm or a similar event. The city can even direct messages to a specific neighborhood or block to let residents know about potential flooding or other emergencies.
“We can communicate with them via phone, email and, more importantly, text messages,” said Mayor Marty Small. “It just gives us so many options, and I’m proud that we’re bringing this software here.”
Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Evans said the department is leveraging this technology to reach as many people as possible.
“We have people going through training right now to get the certification,” he said, “because you need a special certification with the [Federal Aviation Administration] to do these automatic through the cellphone towers, to automatically send out a public safety message, which is life-threatening. We will have that capability to do that.”
Users can pick and choose which topics they would like to receive notifications for and how they would prefer to receive them. Other topics include government closures, evacuations, public safety incidents and special events.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is anticipating an above-average hurricane season, with as many as 10 hurricanes developing from the Atlantic. Hurricane Ida left a trail of destruction in the greater Philadelphia and South Jersey region last summer, so Evans advises residents to take a few minutes to sign up for the alerts.
The system can be especially handy in parts of the city prone to flooding, for example, so residents can be informed when to move their cars to higher ground.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.
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