When tornado warnings were issued March 24 for Tallahatchie County, hundreds of local residents were alerted of the approaching threat electronically by Nixle, a notification service to which the county subscribes.
The weather alert went out by email, text message, social media and the Nixle mobile app to anyone in the county who had registered for the free service and had also selected all of those delivery options.
Nixle is utilized by the Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency to send community announcements, and alerts or advisories about weather and other incidents impacting the county.
If there were a hazardous materials spill or other dangerous situation, for instance, the service could be employed to send an alert, either countywide or to a much more defined area of the county.
National Weather Service warnings are patched through automatically. Other messages are posted by the local EMA.
While Nixle is available to local residents 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, some 1,000 Tallahatchians have registered for Nixle, Roberts noted, adding that it is quick and easy to sign up for the service.
“All they have to do is send their Zip code in a text message to 888777,” he noted.
Once registered, users can customize their notification settings. The service can be discontinued by opting out: texting STOP to 888777.
For more information or for assistance registering for Nixle, call the EMA office in Charleston at 662-647-2540, or visit the Nixle website at www.nixle.com.
