City leaders encouraging citizens to sign up for Emergency Alert System
El Paso’s first responders are hoping to get in better touch with you. First, they need you to sign up for the city’s Emergency Alert System.
The EAS is also known as El Paso Citizen Alert. It has become a hot topic with city leaders following the complete closure of Interstate 10 when an electrical pole went down.
The system is run by local first responders and has been active for five years. It has already been upgraded once, according to County Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Calderwood.
Now, people can sign up online to receive alerts via text and e-mail.
City council and first responders plan to re-visit the policy for when the emergency system is used. Right now, if a natural disaster were to occur, the system can call land lines to inform people.
“I think that it would function better if we can get more individuals registered. Which is one of the things my office was doing yesterday, reaching out to the community, letting people know how they can register and provide them that link to get the information,” City Representative Cortney Niland said.
It only takes a few moments to sign up for the EAS online. It asks for information such as telephone number, e-mail address and home address for community-specific alerts.
According to county officials, the system currently sends out alerts for life-threatening situations, evacuations and emergency lockdowns.
