COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency distributed a news release Thursday about the statewide roll-out of a new emergency notification system platform called Alert Iowa.
Funded by the Iowa General Assembly, managed by Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and operated by county emergency management agencies across the state; Alert Iowa provides automated severe weather notifications and local emergency alerts to keep Iowans prepared, informed, and safe the release said.
Pottawattamie County Emergency Management is one of 88 counties partnered in the system.
“The new platform allows residents to customize the type of alerts they want, provide critical information on any special needs, and register multiple people and addresses all under one account for their family or household,” said Doug Reed, Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Director.
The news release went on to say that the system will be used for severe weather notifications, disaster-related response and recovery information, civil and security emergency alerts, evacuation and sheltering notifications, municipal water system alerts, and any additional information important to the safety and health of the local communities.
“Alert Iowa is our primary notification method to inform our residents during critical emergencies and events,” said Reed. “We can't notify you if we can't reach you.”
Preparedness starts with the individual and families. There is no charge for residents or those that work in the county to create an account and register for alerts. All residents who previously received alerts from the agency will need to register on the new system to continue being alerted and benefit from the customizable options and enhanced features on the new platform. Anyone can create a system account by registering at https://pcema-ia.org.
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