Residents Urged to Prepare for Winter Weather
ALERT FM Receivers available for purchase
Pontotoc, Mississippi- December 1, 2010- As a result of Monday night’s storms, Pontotoc County Emergency Management director Ricky Jaggers is urging residents to prepare for additional winter weather (including thunderstorms, tornados, snow, ice, and freezing temperatures) that might occur in the coming months.
“Most people do not consider December and January to be severe storm months but they definitely can be,” Jaggers said. “Colder temperatures can bring dangerous and unpredictable weather and residents must start to prepare.”
As a means of preparation, Jaggers is encouraging residents to purchase an ALERT FM receiver. The county purchased and began using ALERT FM in 2007 as a means of notifying schools, business, and residents of impending severe weather conditions and emergency instructions. ALERT FM receivers are small, light weight, and easy to program. They can be purchased for less than $40 with no recurring usage fees from www.alertfm.com, Sneed’s Ace Hardware in Oxford, or Nabors Home Center in Houston.
“ALERT FM is essential means of communication during winter weather. It allows residents to get National Weather Service warnings and up-to-date information directly from the county,” said Jim Lowery, General Manager of Global Security Systems, LLC (manufacturer of ALERT FM).
Besides having an ALERT FM receiver, there are other tips that residents need to follow to prepare for severe weather. This includes developing an emergency plan, having a disaster supply kit, practicing drills, and knowing your location in relation to the impending storm.
###
About ALERT FM
ALERT FM is owned and operated by Global Security Systems, LLC (GSS) of Jackson, Miss. It is a personal alert and messaging system that enables state and local government and private sector officials to create and send emergency information to targeted recipients. Potential information includes severe weather warnings, homeland security notices, hurricane evacuation instructions, utility notices, plant or school closings, employee notifications and traffic alerts. First responders, school officials, citizens, and businesses can receive this information based on geographic or organizational groupings through specially designed ALERT FM receivers or any device equipped with a standard FM chip. ALERT FM has been implemented at the university, state, county and multi-county levels. More than 40 million people in 14 states have access to ALERT FM technology.
Pontotoc AFM winter weather press release.pdf (73.14 kb)