June 21, 2007

Catawba County Government is finalizing installation of a Community Alert System (CAS) that will be used to inform citizens about emergencies, by phone, e-mail and/or text messages. The system is expected to be in operation in July.

County officials are encouraging citizens who wish to receive these emergency notifications to be sure their phone numbers and e-mail addresses are in the system.

Catawba County citizens wishing to add their phone numbers (cellular, internet or landline phones), or e-mail addresses to the system may click here to begin the short process.

“The Catawba County Community Alert System will use a database we have acquired, with telephone numbers for all landline subscribers to AT&T (BellSouth) or Embarq (formerly Sprint),” said David Weldon, Catawba County Emergency Services Director. “But recent surveys have shown that only about 60% of phone users in Catawba County are using landline phones, as many of our citizens are now choosing to use only cellular or internet based phones. Cellular and internet based phone numbers will not automatically be available to our system. That’s why it’s important for anyone wishing to receive these emergency alerts to subscribe at www.catawbacountync.gov.”

The Community Alert System was funded through a Federal Homeland Security grant. The system allows for notification to selected persons in a specified area, in cases such as a flooding event or hazardous materials spill that may only impact a portion of the county, or to the entire county.

Those enrolling will be given the opportunity to also receive information on important events involving Catawba County Government.

For more information on the Catawba County Citizen Alert System, you may call the Catawba County Public Information Office at 828-465-8464.