Sign up for CodeRED to be prepared

Talk about it

Stutsman County’s recent purchase of an emergency notification system showed both foresight and fiscal prudence, and people should sign up for the service.

The CodeRED system allows anyone who registers for the service to get texts, phone calls or emails about emergencies.

Signing up for the service is free, and the county saved money on the system with a cooperative agreement with Richland County.

During an emergency such as a tornado or a flash flood, seconds can mean the difference between life and death. CodeRED is designed to give people extra seconds, or even minutes or hours, for people who aren’t near a radio or television set.

Receiving an alert over a cellphone or an iPad could save the life of a fisherman on a lake, a reader engrossed in a novel, a biker roaming the trail system or a sunbather enjoying a lazy day on the beach.

The system can also send notifications about missing child reports, evacuation notices or bioterrorism alerts. Missing child reports sent through email would even include a picture of the child.

Weather warnings about floods, tornadoes, blizzards and severe storms come directly from the National Weather Service.

People should register for the CodeRED service by logging onto the Stutsman County website, www.stutsmancounty.org, and clicking on “CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment.”

It only takes a few moments and the life you save could be a child’s, a neighbor’s or even your own.

(Editorials are the opinion of Jamestown Sun management and the newspaper’s editorial board)

Tags: opinion, editorials, emergency