Emergency management officials in Johnston County are launching a local emergency alert system. The county has paired with the company Code Red in an effort to improve response time to natural disasters. Emergency Management coordinator Darrell Alford says the system also warns residents about localized emergencies like boil-water advisories or pipeline bursts.
Darrell Alford: The system has with it automatic weather warnings that are provided when the National Weather Service sends out a signal that there's a thunderstorm warning or tornado warning approaching the area. The system automatically calls the people that are directly in the storm path.
Residents receive automated phone calls in an emergency is in their area. Alford says about 70 percent of the county is in the system's database. Others can sign up on Johnston County's website.