More than 1,100 opt into Hall Co.'s mass notification system

GAINESVILLE - More than 1,100 have signed up for the Hall County Citizen's Alert System, which notifies residents in the case of severe weather, fires, floods, toxic environmental issues and in-process violent crimes.

The system was launched in February 2012. It alerts residents through a variety of contact mechanisms, including cell phone, landline, email, text messaging, pager, and more, ensuring that important information is received within minutes.

People listed in the AT&T white pages database have been automatically subscribed to receive alerts by landline. According to Hall County 9-1-1 Director Gail Lane, nearly 32,000 residents and approximately 8,000 businesses have been added to the system's database using the automatic subscription method.

"The benefits of being able to notify residents with a mass message have already been seen as Hall County experienced its fair share of heavy rain and thunderstorms this spring and summer," Lane said. "We're very pleased with the response and hope that more citizens will self-enroll in light of the recent bouts of bad weather we've seen."

Citizens can sign up to receive the mass notifications by going to Hall County's webpage, hallcounty.org and clicking on the Citizen's Alert icon. That's where they can select what types of emergencies they want to be notified of and through what method of communication they'd like to receive those alerts.

Hall County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director and Fire Chief David Kimbrell said citizens will benefit from signing up for the program.

"The ability to reach all residents quickly during an emergency in order to warn them and provide guidance is critical to upholding our commitment to protecting citizens from any danger that threatens our community," said Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell.

Residents can self-register, provide additional contact information or opt out at any time by logging on to hallcounty.org and clicking on the Citizen's Alert icon. In addition to being notified about emergencies, residents can also receive information about other important activities, such as road closures and water utility maintenance.