Allamakee County residents can still sign up for “Alert Iowa” Emergency Notification System

Alert Iowa system used recently for water boil advisory and December derecho

Following the fire in Waukon Sunday, February 13 and the ensuing need for a boil advisory to be put into place for Waukon residents, in addition to the derecho in December and other weather events, Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker wants to remind everyone of Allamakee County’s Emergency Alert system called Alert Iowa. The Alert Iowa system was used to help the City of Waukon spread the word on the boil order requirement, and the system was also used and will continue to be used for its severe weather notification capability.

Alert Iowa is a multi-purpose emergency alert system that provides county-specific information on weather and non-weather-related alerts for local residents. The system allows county and city officials and the National Weather Service to communicate emergency information directly to residents via a voice call, text message and/or email and will feature two alert options: weather and non-weather notifications, such as the February 14 boil advisory.

“I want to focus specifically on the non-weather-related Emergency Alert options which are related to each city individually within the county and one for the rural portion of the county also,” Snitker said. “Signing up allows you to receive alert notices for just the specific city or rural portion you select, or multiple locations also. Alert examples include emergency boil alerts, hazardous material spills, shelter-in-place, evacuation, missing person, emergency road closures, etc.

Signing up for the Allamakee County Alert Iowa system is easy and can be done primarily one of two ways. The first way is to create an account in Alert Iowa through a link found on the Allamakee County website at allamakeecounty.iowa.gov, then look under the Departments tab for the Emergency Management page to locate the link. An account can also be created through the State of Iowa HSEMD website at alert.iowa.gov, where other participating counties can also be found.

After reaching the Allamakee County Alert Iowa sign-up page, one can create an account and from there will be asked to provide basic information such as address, phone number, etc. One will also then be able to choose their alert options, how to receive the alerts, and provide other more detailed information as they prefer.

For additional information or for assistance in signing up for the Allamakee County Alert Iowa Emergency Notification system, contact Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker 563-568-4233 or by email at csnitker@co.allamakee.ia.us. Contact information can also be found on the Allamakee County website at allamakeecounty.iowa.gov.