The county and city use Code Red to call residents by phone when an emergency requires immediate action.
The Walker County Office of Emergency Management and City of Huntsville Emergency Management Coordinator Adam Winningham are encouraging residents to register for the Code Red phone notification system to receive emergency alerts.
Code Red is the emergency notification system shared by the City of Huntsville and Walker County. It is a high-speed telephone communication service that allows officials to contact residents throughout the city and county or target specific areas when an emergency requires immediate attention, such as a missing child or an evacuation.
The system can dial up to 60,000 phone numbers per hour, sending emergency notifications to every number registered in its database. Residents can sign up their phone numbers so officials can quickly contact an entire neighborhood, a specific section of the county or the community as a whole.
The Walker County Office of Emergency Management works to keep residents informed and safe during emergency situations. Through Code Red, officials can notify residents by phone when an urgent situation develops and immediate communication is necessary.
The system is reserved for emergencies and annual testing. This means registered residents will not receive regular or routine announcements. Instead, notifications are sent when officials need to communicate important information quickly or when the system undergoes its yearly test.
How Code Red reaches residents in an emergency
Code Red contacts registered phone numbers within a designated area. Officials can choose to notify residents across the entire city and county or limit the alerts to the specific locations affected by an emergency. This allows authorities to reach the people who need the information without unnecessarily contacting the entire community.
The system delivers recorded messages to landline phones, cell phones and other registered numbers. With the ability to dial 60,000 numbers per hour, Code Red can reach a large portion of the county in a short amount of time. This is especially important during situations involving missing children, evacuation notices or rapidly developing weather threats.
The City of Huntsville and Walker County jointly operate the notification system. The city's emergency management coordinator and the county's Office of Emergency Management work together to keep residents informed. Code Red provides another way for officials to communicate with the public when other methods may not be fast enough.
Residents who have moved, changed their phone numbers or added new numbers should make sure their registration information is updated. Since the system only contacts numbers listed in its database, outdated information could prevent residents from receiving an important emergency notification.
How to register for Code Red alerts
Residents can register through the Emergency Notifications page on the City of Huntsville website. The page includes a registration link that allows residents to begin the sign-up process. The city website also identifies Code Red as the shared emergency notification service for Huntsville and Walker County.
During registration, residents are asked to provide the phone numbers where they would like to receive emergency alerts. Once their information is entered, those numbers can receive notifications when officials issue an alert for their area or conduct the annual system test.
Residents who are unsure whether they have already registered can visit the city's website and complete the registration process again. Checking registration information helps ensure that current phone numbers are available when officials need to contact a household.
The Walker County Office of Emergency Management and Winningham are encouraging residents to review their registration before an emergency occurs. Although signing up only takes a few minutes, having an active phone number in the system can help residents receive important information when it matters most.
Winningham serves as the City of Huntsville's emergency management coordinator and helps oversee emergency preparedness and communication efforts. His work with the county's emergency management office supports the shared goal of keeping residents informed during potentially dangerous situations.
The Walker County Office of Emergency Management works alongside the city to provide emergency notifications and protect the community. Through Code Red, both offices have a way to quickly reach residents when an urgent situation develops.
With the ability to contact up to 60,000 phone numbers per hour, the system gives officials an efficient way to distribute important information throughout the area. This capability is particularly valuable during missing-child alerts, evacuations and rapidly changing weather conditions. Officials encourage residents to keep their registration information updated to avoid missing notifications.
For additional information or to register for emergency alerts, residents can visit the Emergency Notifications page at huntsvilletx.gov.