Richland County Will Receive $55,000 For Automated Emergency Alerting System
Release Date: March 20, 2001
Release Number: R4-01-09
Atlanta, GA -- Richland County will receive $55,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA)/South Carolina Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to install an automated emergency alerting and notification system.
FEMA will contribute 75 percent, $41,250, of the project funding. The state of South Carolina will contribute the remaining 25 percent, $13,750.
"This new system, which uses a computer to automatically perform alerting and notification functions, will provide a more efficient way to send emergency messages to disaster response workers and citizens," said Ron Osborne, interim director of the South Carolina Emergency Preparedness Division, which is coordinating funding for the project.
The major benefit of the automated emergency alerting and notifications system is that it engages a computer system to contact emergency response personnel and citizen subscribers automatically via phone, pager and cellular of emergency alerts and notifications.
This frees emergency response personnel from making repetitive calls to do such, delivers accurate, timely information and instructions, eliminates risk of human error and allows for touch tone verification of messages.
"Timely and accurate information allows responders and citizens more lead time to prepare for impending disasters. Many of those preparations may save lives, property and losses when the disaster strikes," Osborne said.
"This is truly the Project Impact concept at work. Simple, cost effective measures that make a community more disaster resistant," he added.
Last Modified: Monday, 06-Oct-2003 10:37:50