San Marcos Joins Region In Preparedness Month Information Drive

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the devastating flooding in the Texas coastal region, communities and cities around the state are focusing on “Preparedness” for future emergencies.

The City of San Marcos is joining other cities and counties in the Central Texas region in promoting WarnCentralTexas.org, a website residents can use to register their cell phones for hyperlocal emergency notifications.

WarnCentralTexas.org has recently been redesigned to include disaster preparedness information, and the City is encouraging people to use both aspects of the newly designed website.

The City is also posting public service announcements weekly on its municipal cable channels (Spectrum Ch. 10 and Grande Ch. 123-16).

“Our recent experience with Hurricane Harvey, and the hardship our fellow Texans on the coast are enduring from the storm, are reminders of how important it is to prepare,” said Interim Emergency Manager Gib Watt. “We encourage everyone in the community to have a plan, register their phones for alerts, and make a disaster preparedness kit.”

The effort, spearheaded by the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), aims to add 120,000 new sign-ups in the 10-county area during September, coinciding with National Preparedness Month.

WarnCentealTexas.org is a free public service serving Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis and Williamson Counties. Using this system, emergency responders can send hyper-local messages to people in specific neighborhoods or streets.

Sign-up information will strictly be used by local government to send warning notifications. Local governments do not sell, trade, lease or loan any data, or citizen-supplied data to third parties.

While newer model cell phones all receive notification from the federal government, such as Amber Alerts, WarnCentralTexas.org is a separate system, and critical tool for local first responders to reach the affected public during an emergency. Area residents can register multiple times to stay informed about emergencies wherever they live, work, and visit.

All jurisdictions in the 10-county region can use the system to share critical emergency information events, such as:

• Evacuations from floods, wildfires or public health threats,
• Shelter-in-place information during law enforcement or public health incidents,
• Boil water notices or prolonged power outages and
• Options to receive general, non-emergency community messages.