Make sure you’re signed up for emergency alerts in your Triangle county. Here’s how

During a severe weather or public safety emergency, timely alerts can save lives.

After a devastating tornado hit Rocky Mount this month, meteorologists took to social media to scrutinize whether the National Weather Service’s Raleigh office should have sent a tornado warning earlier. The warning was issued six minutes after the tornado touched down, The News & Observer previously reported, but before the storm reached its maximum strength.

“There’s still a lot of people whose lives were saved because of the warning we did have out for the most intense part of the tornado,” Nick Pietro, the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS Raleigh office, told The N&O Thursday.

Tornado warnings trigger the emergency alert system, sending alarms to nearby cell phones and warnings scrolling across television stations. People often react to these by taking increased caution or finding a safe location.

NWS Raleigh meteorologists credit these emergency alerts for all Pfizer employees’ successful evacuation from the Rocky Mount plant. Following the tornado, which injured more than a dozen and hospitalized two with life-threatening injuries, all employees were safe and accounted for, Pfizer shared in a statement.

“We put out a tornado warning, but before that, we put out a severe storm warning which had a tornado tag on it, which means there’s a severe thunderstorm warning with possible tornadic conditions,” NWS Raleigh meteorologist told The N&O Thursday.

“I’m so glad we could save thousands of people’s lives with that warning. The tornado was at its maximum strength right near the Pfizer facility, which has so many employees.”

The News & Observer put together a guide to signing up for emergency weather alerts in the Triangle — notably for Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Johnston counties.

Here’s what to do to ensure you get these weather alerts next time there’s a severe weather event:

Which weather, emergency events do alerts notify you about?

All five counties in the Triangle use a similar alert system, which allows you to plug in important addresses and select the kinds of alerts you want to receive. The text alerts are determined by your pre-set locations, which can include your home, place of work, children’s schools and more.

Custom alerts can include:

• Emergency alerts, such as evacuations or missing persons.

• Community alerts, such as boil water or rabies.

• Public service alerts, such as road closures or parades.

Weather alerts can include:

• Wind events, including high-wind warnings and watches.

• Flood alerts, including flood and flash flood warnings and watches.

• Winter alerts, including freezing rain, ice storm, sleet and winter storm warnings and watches.

• Heat alerts, including excessive heat warnings and watches.

• Fire alerts.

• Tropical alerts, including hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches.

• Severe weather alerts, including severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings and watches.

You can include multiple phone numbers and up to five addresses per county for alerts.

Note: The system will only alert you to events happening in and around that county. If you live in Orange County but work in Durham County, for example, you will need to have accounts under both county’s emergency alert systems to cover both of those addresses.

How to sign up for emergency alerts in Wake County

Wake County uses the Ready Wake! Alerts system.

“This system will be used to notify you about imminent threats to health and safety as well as informational notifications that affect your locations or work environments. Administrators will send notifications regarding flooding, gas leaks, police activity and more,” Ready Wake’s website says.

You can find a list of important phone numbers — such as the sheriff’s office, public school system and municipality-specific phone numbers — at readywake.com/contacts.

To sign up for these alerts, visit readywake.com/readywake-alerts and click the yellow “Sign Up Now” button on the right-hand side of the screen. For assistance, you can call Wake County Emergency Management at 919-856-6480.

Wake County’s emergency social media pages are:

• Facebook: facebook.com/wakegov

• Twitter: twitter.com/ReadyWake

How to sign up for emergency alerts in Durham County

Durham County uses the ALERT DURHAM system.

“AlertDurham provides you with critical information quickly for emergency incidents such as severe weather, hazardous materials, shelter in place, and/or evacuations of buildings or neighborhoods,” the alert system’s website says.

You can find a list of important phone numbers at alertdurham.com/contacts.

To sign up for these alerts, visit alertdurham.com and click “Register for Alert Durham Emergency Notifications.” For assistance, you can call Durham County Emergency Management at 919-560-0660.

Durham County’s emergency social media pages are:

• Facebook: facebook.com/AlertDurham

• Twitter: twitter.com/AlertDurham

How to sign up for emergency alerts in Orange County

Orange County uses the OC ALERTS system.

To sign up for these alerts, visit OCAlertsNC.com. For assistance, you can call Orange County Emergency Management at 919-245-6100.

Note: For notices regarding water and sewer service in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community, sign up for notifications from Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA). For notices regarding water and sewer service in the Hillsborough area, sign up for notifications from the Town of Hillsborough. The two water systems are separate.

Orange County’s emergency social media pages are:

• Facebook: facebook.com/OCNCEmergency

• Twitter: twitter.com/OCNCEmergency

How to sign up for emergency alerts in Chatham County

Chatham County uses the CodeRED system. The county calls their emergency notification program ALERT Chatham.

“This system will be used to notify you about imminent threats to health and safety as well as other notifications that may affect your home or workplace,” Chatham’s website says.

To sign up for these alerts, visit chathamcountync.gov and search “ALERT Chatham.” From there, you can register online or download the CodeRED app to your iPhone or Android device. For assistance, you can call Chatham County Emergency Management at 919-545-8163.

Chatham County does not have emergency-specific pages, but the county’s general social media pages are:

• Facebook: facebook.com/ChathamCountyNCGov

• Twitter: twitter.com/ChathamCountyNC

Chatham residents can also sign up for SAFE Chatham, which is an “access and functional needs registry” that helps tell emergency officials that these residents may need special assistance during disasters.

You can register for SAFE Chatham over the phone or online by visiting chathamcountync.gov. These residents can include those with “mobility problems, vision and hearing impairment, lack of transportation, critical health issues and other needs which cause unique challenges during an emergency.”

How to sign up for emergency alerts in Johnston County

Johnston County uses the JoCo Alerts system.

“Information is vital to keep your loved ones and yourself safe. JoCo has its own emergency notification system to keep you updated on emergencies whenever they may occur,” the emergency division’s website says.

To sign up for these alerts, visit johnstonnc.com/alerts. For assistance, you can call the Johnston County Emergency Management Division at 919-989-5050.

Johnston County’s emergency social media pages are:

• Facebook: facebook.com/JoCoEmerServ

• Twitter: twitter.com/JoCoEmerServ

Staff writer Adam Wagner contributed to this report.

Triangle Asked & Answered: What do you want to know?

Have a question about something in our community? The News & Observer’s Service Journalism team wants your questions for our Triangle Asked & Answered series. Reach out to us by filling out this form or by sending an email to ask@newsobserver.com.

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