The City of Brownwood has partnered with CivicReady to implement a new mass notification solution. The CivicReady system will enable the City of Brownwood to issue urgent notifications, emergency instructions, warnings, and routine communications to subscribed citizens via email, text message, and voicemail alert, to keep citizens safe and informed. In the event of a local emergency, residents subscribed to CivicReady will benefit from immediate, actionable information and instructions sent via their preferred notification channel.
“When looking for a platform to provide mass emergency notification in the City of Brownwood, Civic Plus was chosen because of its ability to provide immediate notification to our residents and visitors,” said Eric Hicks, Fire Chief and Emergency Manager. “These notifications can convey vital information needed to keep families safe during an emergency or when a major weather event is imminent or has occurred. The sign up is fast and easy to complete.”
The CivicReady solution also integrates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS). The IPAWS system leverages national emergency communication channels, such as the Emergency Alert System (EAS), NOAA weather radios, digital road signage, and television broadcasts, to provide area-specific alerts in times of emergency. By integrating its CivicReady system with IPAWS, the City of Brownwood will be able to reach as many people as possible during an emergency event, including those who have not opted-in to text, phone, or email communications, as well as travelers and visitors in the area.
How to Sign Up for Alerts:
- Visit: brownwoodtexas.gov/alerts and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click the “sign up” button under the heading “Sign up for Notifications.”
- Next, fill in the information fields: first name, last name, email address, phone number, location, and language preferences.
- Select which notification groups you prefer: general notifications, road closures, utility service updates, as well as weather alerts.
- After completing the data fields, agree to the terms of use after reading, and then click “sign me up” to complete the process.
Once the sign up information has been submitted, a message box will appear on the page with this information: “You have successfully signed up for notifications. An email has been sent to the email address that you specified with instructions on how to activate your notification subscription. You will not begin to receive notifications until you have followed the activation instructions.” It is important to follow those last steps in order to be fully registered for alerts.
The CivicReady alert system is specifically tailored for alerts within the Brownwood city limits. Brown County utilizes the CodeRed alert system. Please note, anyone who previously signed-up for these types of alerts through the former notification systems used by the City, known as CodeRed, will need to re-register as the data was not transferred to ensure proper functionality and that all contact information is up to date in the new system.