Stafford citizens can now receive text alerts about major emergencies such as severe weather, traffic, road closures, and school closings on their cell phones, pagers,  PDAs and e-mail accounts. Stafford Alert is a text-based communication system that notifies registered users about important emergency information. Interested citizens are required to register at www.staffordalert.com to receive the messages. The service is free, but cell phone providers may charge for text messages.

“Stafford Alert allows us to immediately notify and update individuals about any emergency,” said County Administrator Steve Crosby. “This is especially useful here in Stafford because we have a large commuter population, and we will be able to connect directly to them whether they are working in Northern Virginia or Washington D.C., and provide them with important information on a timely basis.”

County officials would continue sending out emergency notifications to citizens via traditional methods such as working with media representatives, and posting messages on the government cable channels as well as on the Stafford Web site at www.staffordcountyva.gov. Stafford Alert would be another tool they would use to keep citizens informed during emergencies or disaster situations.

The system uses the Roam Secure Alert Network, created by Roam Secure Inc., a company based in Arlington, Virginia. The network allows text messages to be sent to electronic devices via a special communications channel that is reserved for data only. Telephone land lines and cell phone voice channels can become quickly saturated during emergencies. In addition, communication infrastructure can be severely damaged during times of crisis as was seen during the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. But the data-only communications channel enables these messages to be disseminated with little or no interruptions.

Stafford Alert is a system managed by the user, which means that an individual can register as many electronic devices as he or she would like to receive the alerts. The user can also select the types of information he or she would like to receive such as alerts about traffic, severe weather, and/or road closures. If an individual does not want to sign up for all of these notifications, they can simply register and they would receive a monthly test as well as emergency information if an emergency occurred in Stafford. They would also receive emergency directions during and after an event, such as the location and operating hours of shelters or distribution points for water and ice.

Roam Secure is based in Arlington, Virginia. It has been operational for more than three years in the National Capital Region. Stafford is one of several Virginia localities that include Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun and King George, that use Roam Secure for citizen alerts. 

< October 2007 news index