York County recently deployed an emergency notification system that will allow Public Safety Communications or Emergency Management to quickly notify our citizens of an emergency that may affect their area. At any given moment, we could be faced with an unforeseen emergency, from severe weather to a hostage situation to a chemical spill.

Currently, the contact database includes all residential and commercial landline telephone numbers. Citizens are encouraged to register additional methods of contact, such as cell phone numbers, VoIP numbers, and email addresses. It is very important that citizens register all of their additional contact numbers to ensure that they don’t miss any critical emergency notifications.

By registering, York County will be able to send time-sensitive, targeted messages to select groups and geographic areas. The system is capable of reaching traditional landlines, cellular and VoIP phones, smart phones, pagers and TTY/TTD devices for the hearing impaired. It also sends messages via SMS/text messaging and email and posts messages to Facebook and Twitter. But the citizen must register their contact information to receive the notifications.

The primary use of the system will be to disseminate messages pertaining to the health, safety or welfare when affected by a perceived, emerging, or imminent emergency event. With the emergency alert system York County will be able to send emergency notifications for situations such as: water contamination alerts, nuclear hazards and chemical spills, missing persons, and hostage situations.