County residents can begin signing up for a new emergency notification system that could alert them to a wide array of incidents. The Warren County Health Department and Emergency Management Agency recently implemented the Delta Alert emergency and mass notification system, a web-based program that can send thousands of phone messages simultaneously. The system will allow the county to send out a mass notification to all users or a message can be targeted to users in a particular street, subdivision, city, or area that may be affected by a particular incident. It’s the intent, county officials said, to relay emergency information quickly for incidents such as evacuations, dam failures, disease outbreaks, chemical leaks or spills, and other natural disasters. The system could also be used for boil order alerts and other non-emergency situations. The system went online in August, but county officials are now at the point of being able to accept more users on the system after encountering some minor issues. Mike Daniels, county emergency management director, said the system currently has more than 11,000 published telephone numbers the county received from CenturyLink. He noted that many other counties throughout the state are implementing a similar alert system. “It’s a quick, easy way to notify a large number of residents in a short amount of time,” Daniels said. “It has quite a bit of usage you could use it for. “We are here to serve the citizens of Warren County,” Daniels said. “We have always known we needed this.” Daniels said the alert system could have been used two years ago when an ice storm hit the county. He said officials had trouble advising residents about a warming station that was opened since a local radio station was affected by a power outage. He also stated residents living near the Warrenton Pool could have been notified when a chemical leak occurred there in June. To sign up, county residents can visit the Warren County Health Department’s Web site (www.warrencountyhealth.com) or fill out an informational sheet that will be mailed next week with the county’s tax bills. More information will also be available at public events hosted by the health department. The only information the county needs is a user’s address, phone number and e-mail address. There is no charge. Residents can opt-in or out at any time. Residents must sign up to have their information included in the system if they have an unlisted CenturyLink telephone number or primarily use a cell phone. “The only way we can get that is if they voluntarily agree,” Daniels said. “We will not sell it to a third party. It will be strictly for emergency notification only.” A resident can list multiple phone numbers. Ruth Walters, health department administrator, also reminds users to have a secondary phone number available if their home number is also used for Internet service. “If I’m at work and something happens at my house, I will know before I get home or I can alert other members of my family,” she said. Should an incident occur, the Delta Alert system will be activated by Daniels through the Internet or by phone. He will report the emergency and then identify the area to receive the message through Google Maps. He will then type a message that can be sent through four modes — voice message, e-mail, TDD-TTY and text message. The notification will include the type of incident and recommended actions for residents to follow. The system then alerts the activator to the users who have or haven’t been reached. A voicemail message will be left for those residents who don’t answer. If the phone line is busy, the system will continue to make repeated calls, Daniels said. The system will allow the county to make approximately 1,000 phone calls in one minute, according to Daniels. The Delta Alert system is costing the county $2,700. More than half of the expense is being funded through a $1,700 Missouri Health and Senior Services’ bioterrorism grant, while remaining $1,000 is coming from the emergency management fund. For more information, call Daniels at 636-456-3786 or Walters at 636-456-7474.