People can be caught off guard by events such as flash floods and storms. Importantly, when disaster strikes, any advance notice may help people avoid harm.
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1 that advance notice will be coming through a new notification system for people in Central Texas.
The Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG) will begin using the Everbridge emergency notification platform, according to a news release from the council.
The new alert system will replace the CodeRED Mass Emergency Communication System, which is in use across the CTCOG region, according to the release.
The release stated the Everbridge system will provide a “more consistent and reliable way for residents, businesses and visitors to receive important emergency and community notifications.”
Those currently registered with CodeRED will have their information transferred, but they are still encouraged to create an Everbridge account to personalize their notification preferences.
The new system can alert residents to fires, floods and other emergencies, road closures and transportation disruptions, water utility maintenance and more, according to the release.
Alerts may be delivered to cellphones, landline phones and computers through text messages, emails and other communication methods.
Residents may register for Everbridge at www.ctcog.org.
Temple, Belton and Killeen are all part of the Central Texas region, but they will adapt to this change differently.
Killeen transitioned from CodeRED to its own system around 2025, according to Torrie Bethany, executive director of communications and marketing for Killeen.
“Through the new system, residents can choose how they receive notifications, including by voice phone calls, text messages (SMS) and email,” Bethany said.
“The system also integrates directly with the National Weather Service (NWS) and FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) to provide automated, location-specific weather hazard alerts. This was something that we didn’t have before,” Bethany said.
Killeen officials will continue to use their own system, but they have an agreement in place with CTCOG so they can use Everbridge if their system goes down.
“The city and CTCOG each use their respective systems for emergency communications, providing added communication during an emergency,” Bethany said.
Paul Romer, director of communications for Belton, said the city will transition from CodeRED to Everbridge with CTCOG, noting the CodeRED system had worked well for the city.
“All those who have signed up for CodeRED will have their information migrated to Everbridge, so there shouldn’t be a gap in messaging,” Romer said. “But we do encourage folks to register with Everbridge, so they can opt in or out of certain types of messaging.”
Ultimately, Belton supports the switch.
“Everbridge is a product that is used all over the nation and state. It’s a good product,” Romer said.
Temple uses CodeRED with CTCOG and will be switching with the council at the beginning of September, according to Nohely Mackowiak, public relations coordinator for the city.
“Existing CodeRED subscribers have already been transferred into the Everbridge system, so residents who were previously registered will continue to receive emergency notifications,” Mackowiak said, noting the new system will be an improvement.
“The new system offers additional capabilities that were not available through CodeRED, including expanded translation options,” Mackowiak said. “Everbridge is also designed to be more intuitive for staff responsible for creating and sending alerts, which will help us communicate important information efficiently during an emergency.”
