St. Landry Parish rolls out emergency alert system

St. Landry Parish Government is rolling out a new telephone-based mass notification system to warn citizens of local emergencies. The system will be used primarily for weather and environmental hazards alerts.

ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- St. Landry Parish Government is rolling out a new telephone-based mass notification system to warn citizens of local emergencies. The system will be used primarily for weather and environmental hazards alerts.

The system will provide rapid notification of hazardous and urgent situations using a mix of telephone calls, texts and emails, and TTY/TDD services for the hearing impaired. Residents can choose how they want to receive alerts.

Residents and people who work in St Landry Parish are encouraged to enroll now (using a parish address) either by calling or texting "Alert" to (337) 435-6733 or by going to the website http://www.stlandrypg.org/alerts.

The alert system will be used primarily for weather and environmental hazard alerts and will be utilized during hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

"Our job is to protect the citizens of St. Landry Parish as effectively and cost-effectively as possible," said Van Reed, Director of Emergency Preparedness for St. Landry Parish. "We're really excited about this new capability."