CodeRED testing in Horry today

    CodeRED, an emergency telephone notification and information system, has come to Horry County, with testing scheduled for today (Monday.)
     An “All Call” validation test today will result in calls to all of the numbers currently registered in the system through Code Red.
    The “All Call” is designed to scrub the database of numbers that cannot be confirmed as valid and will be removed from the system. This will create a cleaner list resulting in more connected calls and less network congestion when a real emergency happens.

Long reach
    Provided under contract with Emergency Communications Network, Inc. of Ormond Beach, Fla., CodeRED gives county officials the ability to deliver pre-recorded messages to targeted areas, or to the entire county, at the rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour, a county news release said.
    But the system is only as good as its telephone database, said Horry County Emergency Management Director Randy Webster.
     “Although the system houses a database populated from multiple sources, if your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called,” Webster said.
    CodeRED gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly to the system’s telephone database. The system allows individuals to enter as many phone numbers as needed for other family members or employees at a business by re-entering the information.
    E-mail addresses can also be added, allowing for emergency notifications by phone, text or e-mail.

Log in, sign up
    To ensure no one is omitted, Webster urges all individuals and businesses to log onto Horry County’s website, horrycounty.org, and to follow the link to the “CodeRED Residential and Business Data Collection” page.
    Contact information will remain private and will only be used for emergency notifications.
    Those without Internet access may call the Horry County Public Information Office at 843-915-5390, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, to give their information over the phone to be added to the CodeRED system.
    Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. Boxes), city, state, zip code, primary phone number and additional phone numbers are optional.
    No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included. All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the last year, and who use a cellular phone as their primary home phone.
    Since the system is a geographical based notification system, street addresses are needed to select which phone numbers will receive emergency notification calls in any given situation.
    For more about CodeRED, and its many features, see the story in the Sept. 25 Tabor-Loris Tribune print edition.