Winneshiek County officials urging the public to sign up for cell phone alerts

Winneshiek County officials are urging residents and visitors to sign up for the Wireless Emergency Notification System.

The system allows the county to quickly notify residents, neighborhoods or groups of people of dangerous situations, including weather warnings.  Many Winneshiek County residents use only cell phones as their primary source of communication.  The system gives the county the ability to notify all residents within moments of an emergency situation via cell phone. The system, which is internet-based, also can notify people by landline and email.

Residents can choose to be notified via text, voicemail and/or email, in the event of an emergency, such as evacuation or flooding. In addition, residents may request notification of a severe weather event impacting their location, road closures, power outages and traffic alerts.  The service is provided free of charge, however normal messaging fees may apply.

To subscribe, residents should go to http://tinyurl.com/wcalert and enter their contact numbers and email addresses.