Here’s how to sign up for alerts in your Triangle county (& what they’ll tell you)
A late-night emergency alert woke up most of Wake County around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, letting all county residents know an “armed and dangerous” suspect in Zebulon was in custody.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office later shared in a press release that the alert was not intended for the entire county, and they were working with their vendor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine why the message was sent to a wider audience than intended.
Still, many non-Zebulon residents praised the alert, sharing in Facebook comments that they think these alerts should be sent out.
“That’s good we need this to let us know what’s going on,” one Facebook user wrote.
Wake County towns have been under fire in recent years for mass alert issues, notably when the city of Raleigh didn’t use two available alert systems during the mass shooting in the Hedingham neighborhood that would’ve sent text messages to people’s cell phones, and again when Cary residents were left in the dark for more than 12 hours during a long standoff between law enforcement and an armed man barricaded in an apartment.
The News & Observer put together a guide to signing up for emergency alerts in the Triangle — notably for Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham and Johnston counties.
Here’s how you can sign up for alerts next time there’s a notable safety or weather event in your area.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
