When the Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency wanted to announce a test of tornado sirens in the county Thursday morning, they did so via a message transmitted electronically through Nixle, a paid notification service to which the county subscribes.
The announcement, sent via email, text message and telephone voice message to anyone in the county who had signed up for the free service, noted simply, "TCEM: We will be testing the tornado sirens today."
In the past, Nixle has been utilized by the local EMA to send alerts about severe weather, flooding and other incidents impacting Tallahatchie County. If there were a hazardous materials spill or some other emergency — whether natural or manmade — the service could be employed to send an alert. It can also be used for precautionary advisories. For instance, one recently broadcast message about the COVID-19 outbreak reminded people to practice social distancing, wash their hands and not touch their face due.
Weather-related warnings are patched through automatically via the National Weather Service. Others must be posted by local EMA officials.
While the messages are available at no cost, registration is necessary.
"People don't get the notifications if they're not signed up," said Thad Roberts, director of the local EMA.
Presently, about 1,000 Tallahatchians have registered for Nixle, Roberts noted. A U.S. Census Bureau estimate on July 1, 2019, listed Tallahatchie County's population as 13,809.
Roberts said it is quick and easy to sign up.
"All they have to do is send their Zip code in a text message to 888777," he explained.
Once registered, users can customize their notification settings.
If someone ever wanted to discontinue the service to their devices, they can opt out by texting STOP to 888777.
For more information or assistance with registering for the Nixle advisories, call the EMA office in Charleston at 647-2540. That office is located at 192 S. Panola St.
