St. Mary’s County has implemented a system for its citizens, which provides emergency warning notification to those directly affected by any pending emergency situation. The system is called CodeRED. Those interested in this type of emergency notification will receive a pre-recorded message if their residence, as registered on the site is in the area of any declared emergency.

 One component of the system is the CodeRED Weather Warning System. During tornado events, if registered users are directly in the path of an approaching tornado or storm, they will receive an automated phone call notifying them to take necessary precautions.

 According to the website - http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/Emergencycomm/coderedfaq.asp “The CodeRED Emergency Notification System is a fast communication service allowing St. Mary’s County to notify citizens of an emergency situation. It enables the County to provide mass notification quickly and easily. This service is free to St. Mary’s County residents and businesses.”

When the National Weather Service identifies  a dangerous line of storms approaching any  particular area, CodeRED launches a mass  phone notification system to registered  users. The notification is automatic and is  only delivered to residents in the projected  path of the storms.

 CodeRed participants receive notification whenever there is a critical situation which affects the area of their residence.

 The CodeRED system delivers any messages through a high-speed telephone calling system to a phone number on the CodeRED database. During a declared emergency, county staff accesses the database through a secure web portal. Once the nature and area of the emergency is determined, the CodeRED database flags the call area and a call goes out to every one registered in that area.

 Examples of times when the CodeRED system could be utilized: drinking water contamination, utility outage, evacuation notice and route, missing person, fires or floods, bomb threat, hostage situation, chemical spill or gas leak, and other emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential for life safety.

 As an additional service, St. Mary’s County residents signed up for CodeRED will automatically receive calls when severe weather – tornado, flash flood, and severe thunderstorm – warnings are issued by the National Weather Service for their address.  The CodeRED Weather Warning System calls only when warnings are issued and only if the registered resident’s address is in the path of the storm.

 CodeRED uses a new polygon warning technology based upon the National Weather Service’s Storm-Based Warning. Only those affected are called, eliminating the need for mass notification. By eliminating the need for human intervention to activate warnings CodeRED significantly decreases the response time for fast moving storms.

 To sign up, interested county residents should visit the following link and provide the information required: http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/Emergencycomm/coderedweatherfaq.asp.

 This site is owned and managed by Emergency Communications Network who is working with local governments’ Emergency Response Team to safeguard its citizens. Information that is provided by registered users remains completely private and is only made available for notification during critical situations.

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