Emergency Alerts

The following was copied from a news bulletin by Fairfax County. It describes a program to provide citizens with emergency alerts via email, PDA, etc. As part of the alert program you will also be notified (if you choose) of poor weather, school closings, traffic conditions now. There are others that do provide the latter, such as NBC4's weather . Time will tell whether this can replace those other useful services; it seems quite comprehensive and appears will also alert you during a "real" emergency.

Dec. 22, 2005

Make Signing Up for Emergency Alerts One of Your New Year's Resolutions

Residents Encouraged to Become Better Prepared and Register Today

One of the easiest steps to become better prepared for an emergency or severe weather event is to sign up for Fairfax County’s Community Emergency Alert Network, or CEAN, a free service of the county’s Office of Emergency Management. And it’s an easy New Year’s resolution to accomplish that doesn’t take much time or require any dieting!

People registered on the CEAN will be provided a personal connection to real-time updates, instructions on where to go, protective actions that need to be taken and other important information such as National Weather Service watches and warnings.

CEAN alerts may cover personal safety, weather, major accidents involving utilities or roadways, or disaster notification such as a terrorist attack. In addition, residents also may register for any or all of the additional CEAN alert categories: severe weather 24/7; severe weather 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; severe traffic disruptions and county government closings/schedule changes.

The CEAN will be used by county officials to deliver emergency alerts, notifications and updates during a major crisis or emergency. Messages will be delivered to e-mail accounts, cell phones (text messaging costs may apply; check with your service provider), text pagers, satellite phones and wireless PDAs that are registered on the system.

To register for the Community Emergency Alert Network, visit the Fairfax County Web page, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cean/. For additional information on the CEAN, contact the Office of Emergency Management at 703-324-2362, TTY 711.

Fairfax County Government offers the CEAN as a public service that will be used in conjunction with other public notification methods, such as the Fairfax County Government Emergency Information Line (703-817-7771, TTY 711); cable television Channel 16; the Fairfax County Government Web site; and area media.