CodeRED test call scheduled for May 3

Weather Warning service also available from Sarasota County

Image courtesy Sarasota County
Image courtesy Sarasota County

Residents who have signed up for Sarasota County’s CodeRED Emergency Notification System will receive a test call May 3, county staff has announced.

The test calls will give county employees the opportunity to operate the system as if there were a community-wide disaster, a news release explains. The message that will be delivered will direct recipients to www.scgov.net to add additional contact numbers, and it also will ask that recipients spread the news about the system by mentioning it to family members, friends and neighbors, the release adds.

The CodeRED system allows a person to receive calls, email alerts or text messages in the event of an emergency that could impact his or her neighborhood or business, the release points out. Alerts may warn of water or sewer interruptions, missing persons or major traffic detours, for example, the release notes.

Sarasota County also recently added CodeRED’s Weather Warning service to the system; it will automatically notify those who are registered about tornado, flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings just minutes after an alert has been issued by the National Weather Service, the release explains. CodeRED Weather Warning is an opt-in only service, the release says.

CodeRED is available for free by visiting the county website. The registration link is listed under “Emergency Services” at the bottom of the county’s homepage, http://www.scgov.net.

To register, one just needs to enter a first and last name, physical address and primary phone numbers, the release points out.

For more information, call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 861-5000 and ask about CodeRED registration.