The Delta Alert emergency notification system was used for the first time in Warren County during last weekend’s severe thunderstorm with mixed results. Warren County Emergency Management Director Mike Daniels said a message alerting residents to a Feb. 27 tornado warning reached some of the residents, but not all, who had opted to receive the emergency alerts. The severe storm hit the southern portion of the county damaging some homes and knocking over 16 utility poles on Highway 47. Daniels noted that he received some positive feedback from residents last week but some were upset about the lateness and repeated phone calls to their homes. Phone calls from the Delta Alert message were received after 10:30 p.m. In addition, he said the voice message was hard to understand. The Delta Alert system has been disabled for now, Daniels said, with the exception of emergency responder agencies who would be involved in the activation of the county’s emergency operations center should the need arise. Daniels hopes to perform a test of the Delta Alert system sometime this month. “There are some glitches we have to work out,” Daniels said. “I think it’s still going to be a very viable system.” The mass notification system was implemented by the Warren County Emergency Management Agency and Health Department late last year. It’s the intent, county officials said, to relay emergency information quickly for incidents such as storms, dam failures, chemical leaks or spills or other natural disasters. The system has more than 9,000 published telephone numbers the county received from CenturyLink and around 1,600 more from residents who opted in when an informational sheet was mailed with county tax bills in November. Some of those numbers are duplicates, Daniels said. To sign up, county residents can visit the Warren County Health Department’s Web site (www.warrencountyhealth.com). The only information the county needs is a user’s address, phone number and e-mail address. There is no charge for the service. Residents can opt-in or out at anytime. 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 will be left for those residents who don’t answer. If the phone line is busy, the system will continue to make repeated calls. Multiple phone numbers can be listed for a resident. For more information on the Delta Alert system, contact the emergency management agency at 636-456-3786 or the health department at 636-456-7474.