Alabama Launches Statewide Emergency Alert System

The State of Alabama announced it has activated a statewide emergency notification system that will send warnings about floods and other life-threatening disasters directly to residents’ cell phones and landlines. The $1.2 million system will supplement emergency alerts already distributed through television and radio stations.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced funding for the system earlier this year, saying it would give Alabama residents faster access to disaster warnings and more time to prepare. Ivey called for the system following a deadly flood in Texas last year that killed 27 people, including 25 children at a girls camp. Among the victims was 8-year-old Sarah Marsh of Homewood, Alabama.

Ivey also signed the Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act this year, establishing additional safety and emergency preparedness requirements for Alabama summer camps. The new statewide alert system was activated ahead of National Preparedness Month in September.