The Hyper-Reach system, which will send tornado warnings directly from the National Weather Service, can help fill in the gap as some communities, including Springfield, have stopped using tornado sirens because of costs and questions about effectiveness.
“This can be a convenient notification whereas sirens are meant to be an outdoor notification,” Clark County EMA Director Lisa D’Allessandris said, adding that the industry standard is for residents to have multiple resources, including a weather radio.
The system already has the phone numbers of residents with land lines, but residents with cell phones must register their numbers by calling EMA at (937) 521-2179 or http://www.hyper-reach.com/comsignupw.jsp?id=26502.
As of Tuesday, only 7,458 cell phone numbers had been registered to receive alerts.
D’Allessandris said those figures are extremely low because it’s estimated that about 20 percent of the county’s more than 133,000 residents don’t have land lines and only use cell phones.
The system can issue alerts and notices countywide or in only those communities impacted by the emergency.
EMA officials say the system is essential because residents can also register their phone numbers to receive alerts to communities of relatives or of someone for which they are a caregiver.
“It’s one more tool in the tool box to communicate with residents,” Clark County EMA Deputy Director Ken Johnson said.
Clark County commissioners on Tuesday supported the system and questioned whether notifications for road closures due to severe weather could also be added to the system.
They also questioned whether tornado warning alerts, for example, would be sent in the early morning hours and upset those who registered their phone numbers.
“The odds are it’s not going to occur at 3 a.m., but it could happen,” D’Allessandris said.
• In other business, commissioners approved plans to open bids for the $2.3 million Limecrest Water System Improvement Project on May 10. Officials are still mulling plans to build the waterline to connect nearly 300 Limecrest residents to the city’s water system, but want to make sure interest in the community remains high before voting to approve the project.
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