CodeRED notification system upgraded; Winter storm warnings added

Posted on Jan 18, 2013 in Local News, Weather by Josh Allen

The warning and information notification system used by the City of Paris — CodeRED — has recently been upgraded, according to Paris Police Chief Bob Hundley.

“CodeRED has an automatic feature for severe thunderstorm warnings when the path of the storm is going to impact the city of Paris,” Hundley stated.  ”As of yesterday, winter storm warnings were added to the automatic notification portion of the system.”

The CodeRED’s automatic phone calls are a big asset in getting timely warnings out to the citizens of Paris.

Anytime the National Weather Service issues a warning that includes the city of Paris, that warning is also delivered to the CodeRED system which immediately begins the telephone call process without any human intervention.  Residents will see “ECN” or “Emergency Communications Network” on their caller ID.

According to Chief Hundley, CodeRED is used by city staff for general information notices such as water outages and street closures when those occur.  Emergency management for the city uses text and e-mail alerts when potentially dangerous weather is approaching so that citizens may be more aware of the situation.

The local phone database is used for the telephone calls.  Those who choose to subscribe to CodeRED have additional choices of what notifications are sent and how — by telephone, text messages or e-mail.

“CodeRED also has a mobile app for notifying subscribers on their smart phone,” Chief Hundley added.

Since the severe weather season is only a few months away, this would be a good time for city of Paris residents to take advantage of this city service and subscribe.  Visit Paris’ website, www.paristexas.gov, and look on the left side of the homepage for ‘Sign Up for CodeRED Notifications’.  Clicking on this link will send you to the Emergency Management page where you can sign up for the service.

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