POLK COUNTY, Iowa — Those who work and live in Polk County will be getting their emergency alerts a little differently starting October 19.
The Polk County/Alert Iowa automated notification system will send alerts on a variety of topics — including weather, manmade disasters, crime updates, search and rescue efforts and more —according to Polk County Emergency Management.
Tracey Bearden, the Polk County 911 coordinator, encouraged everyone who lives, works or visits the Polk County 911 service area — which includes Norwalk and Waukee — to sign up.
“Polk County/Alert Iowa Alerts will provide important information to users based on the home and/or work address(es) they register. If you do not opt-in to receive alerts, you could miss important safety information," Bearden said in the press release.
Bearden added that alerts will come throughout the entirety of the situation. When an emergency is over, a follow-up message will inform users about it.
The new system will provide updates for the same sorts of situations as the old Codered alerts, including missing persons or active threats. However, they will also be providing updates on severe weather.
"We're going to do the big six warnings, which are tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, high and extreme winds, flood warnings, flash flood warnings and blizzard warnings," she said.
Alert Iowa will also offer translation services, so users can receive notifications in whatever language is easiest for them.
In order to receive emergency updates, you can opt-in using a QR code or by signing up online.
The system's first test was conducted at noon Wednesday.