Get Island-specific warnings through CodeRED

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Look for this logo on your town website to sign up for weather and other Island-specific emergencies.

Islanders, businesses, and visitors can expect a recorded call from Martha’s Vineyard emergency managers Tuesday morning about the CodeRED system.

Island emergency managers have licensed the CodeRED community notification system to disseminate important information, along with alerting citizens to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other storms, according to Russ Hartenstine, West Tisbury’s emergency manager.

The calls will go out on whatever number was registered, Hartenstine said. The idea is to get those people to encourage their neighbors and friends to sign up.

Residents are encouraged to go to their town websites to click on the CodeRED logo, and sign up phone numbers, cell numbers for text, and email addresses. Once there, you can choose which of the weather warnings you want to receive.

Anyone without Internet access is encouraged to contact a family member to help add contact information to the emergency database. Individuals can also contact the call center at Oak Bluffs Fire Station at 508-693-5380 on Tuesday, June 25, between 10 am and 4 pm, where operators will be standing by to sign them up.

“We’re hoping to get enough attention to get people to sign up for it,” Hartenstine said. “We’re approaching peak population time. We thought the best thing to do was to ge more awareness ahead of the Fourth of July.”

CodeRED is different from those MEMA and FEMA blasts that go to every cell phone, providing alerts during a major event, he said. The CodeRED system can provide information related only to the Island, like when warming shelters are opened. It was used in October, for example, when there were tornado warnings

“This is a minor league, and we want you to come and play in our system,” Hartenstine said.