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County To Test Alert System That Can Call, Text Message Residents

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By CARL ORTH

The Suncoast News

Published: August 20, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco residents could know which way the winds blow this hurricane season if a new system to send alerts pans out.

The first test of the pilot system was scheduled for Tuesday, but was delayed to patch a computer glitch, Pasco emergency officials announced.

When the system is ready, a recorded test message will be sent to about 163,000 phone numbers the county has on file, according to James Johnston, operations coordinator for Pasco County Office of Emergency Management.

The system has the capability of sending text messages to cell phones and personal digital assistant devices or e-mail alerts to computers and hand-held devices, but people will have to register online for those types of warnings, Johnston said.

The registration link is posted on the emergency management Web site home page. Go to www.pasco emergencymanagement .com.

Warnings could be sent in minutes to thousands of residents about hurricanes or emergencies such as hazardous materials, wildfires, boil water notices or other disasters.

After the test, the county will conduct a survey to ask residents whether they like such alerts, James D. Martin, director of the Pasco Office of Emergency Management, wrote in a memo to county commissioners.

County officials also hope to find out which device is most popular for receiving the alerts: work telephones, home phones, cell phones or PDAs. They should get a better idea of which format the public likes the best, e-mail, telephone text messages or phone voice mail.

"This is just another tool in the toolbox," Johnston said. He doesn't expect to reach all 163,000 phone numbers to leave the test message. Some telephone numbers are unlisted, some residents have just moved into the county, and some people only have mobile phones.

The ConnectGOV mass notification service Pasco County is using comes from Blackboard Connect. The Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based company says its system can handle up to 3 million 30-second phone calls an hour, Johnston said.

Eventually the alert network could go statewide. The pilot program includes 1 million households in Pasco and three other counties. The state is paying for the program through January.

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