DCSO release – If an emergency situation arises in your area will you be informed of critical information?
Emergencies happen with little or no notice at any time of the day or night. The Douglas County Citizen Emergency Notification System (CENS) can be used to notify the public with important information during an emergency. With CENS, we can relay critical information to you about natural disasters or other emergencies that require your immediate attention. DCSO currently receives all landline phone numbers from the local phone companies. These phone numbers are all automatically enrolled and will receive alerts based on their home address. For people who only have cellular phones, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phones, or for those people who want to register additional phones, you need to opt-in to register your phones. In the event of an emergency, Douglas County officials can identify the affected area and send a message that describes the situation and recommends the protective actions residents should take. The CENS will automatically call out to all land-line and opt-in telephone numbers within that geographic area and deliver the recorded message once a voice is heard. If your phone line is busy, the system will attempt to redial the number three times to make contact. If an answering machine picks up the call, the emergency message will be left on the machine. Some of the many uses of the system include: Tsunami Warnings; Emergency Evacuations; Natural Disaster Alerts; Missing Child Alerts; Hazardous Material Leaks; Neighborhood Emergency Incidents. Opting in is easy and FREE – just visit www.dcso.com/alerts/default.asp Stay informed, be prepared and stay safe!
