TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Division of Emergency Management is developing a statewide emergency alert system called AlertFlorida. The initiative is to provide statewide emergency alert and notification services to all Florida residents, businesses and visitors.
AlertFlorida is "a standardized system to communicate critical emergency information to every resident, business and visitor in Florida,” FDEM Director Bryan Koon said.
Services are currently being implemented in several counties during an initial phase, with additional deployment phases continuing throughout 2016.
Each participating jurisdiction will be able to customize the categories of alerts available in their community through a local opt-in portal. The system also provides automated notifications of flash floods, tornadoes, and other watches and warnings issued by the National Weather Service.
Users will select their preferred language and methods for receiving alerts, including SMS text messaging, e-mail, voice calls, TDD/TTY messaging, and mobile device apps for AndroidTM, Apple, and Windows mobile devices. The system will also post alerts to social media channels and will interface directly with existing broadcast-based alerting systems.
Jaimie Ellertson, CEO of Everbridge, the company creating the system, said, “The state of Florida continues to demonstrate strong leadership in emergency management, and this statewide critical communications program will improve Florida’s overall preparedness and resiliency during severe weather disasters and manmade emergencies.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Florida emergency management division plans statewide emergency alert system