Cities Use Code Red Alert System

FARMINGTON — Whether you live in Farmington, Prairie Grove, Lincoln or outside these towns, a mass alert system is available to warn you about incoming weather emergencies or other hazardous events.

Washington County and the three cities all use an emergency alert system called Code Red and city residents can sign up for the free weather alerts by going to the websites for their respective cities or to the Washington County website for those who live in the unincorporated area. Each of these websites has a Code Red link.

Residents can receive the automated telephone messages on a conventional land phone or their cellphones.

Arkansas residents also have access to another free service for emergencies that is called Smart 911. Citizens can apply online at Smart911. com and create a safety profile to provide medical and other data to the 9-1-1 dispatcher in the event of an emergency call.

This information can include allergies, photos in the event of a lost child, bedroom locations, parental emergency contact numbers and other information to help first responders in the event of an emergency.

The cities of Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln joined the Code Red system about two years ago.

Washington County joined the network last spring for its 32,000 rural residents, said Rick Johnson, deputy director of Washington County Emergency Management Office. He said about 1,500-2,000 households in the unincorporated area have signed up since March.

Code Red can be used to warn residents of impending weather or to send out emergency or general notifications to the public.

Code Red sends out weather warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and winter alerts. Residents choose which alerts to receive.

Emergency and general notifications can include an intruder in the area, road closings or upcoming community events.

Johnson said Code Red does not send out its weather warnings to every household signed up for the service but only to those in the impacted areas. A tornado warning, for instance, is only sent to those people living in the path of the storm or who live within a polygon that shows the potential direction of the storm.

The system uses polygons that are issued by the National Weather Service and identifies specific addresses within the polygons through longitude and latitude lines.

Johnson said non-emergency notifications work the same way. These phone messages are only sent to people affected by the information.

Go to your respective website to sign up for the Code Red service. These websites are www.cityoffarmingtonar.com, www.prairiegrovearkansas.org, www.lincolnarkansas.com and www.co.washington.ar.us.