Over the past decade, Chattooga County has seen our share of public emergencies.  From tornadoes and natural disasters to the mill fire at Berryton and the ongoing water issues, there are times when the public needs to be informed in cases of emergencies.  That’s why Chattooga County government along with the City of Summerville and the Town of Trion are encouraging the use of “Hyper-reach”.

The new emergency alert system will provide rapid notification of hazardous and urgent situations using a mix of telephone calls, text and email messages, and even TTY/TDD service for the hearing impaired. The system sends thousands of these messages to geographically targeted households in seconds, and can simultaneously deliver them to an even broader audience via social media, as well as sending broadcast messages to most current mobile telephones (made since 2011) in an affected area by providing access to FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system.

“Our job is to protect the citizens of Chattooga County as effectively and cost-effectively as possible.” said Pamela Vaughn, Director of Emergency Preparedness for Chattooga County. “We reviewed all the major vendors for emergency notification service, and Hyper-Reach gave us everything we needed at an unbelievable price. We’re really excited about this new capability.”

The County plans to use the service primarily for alerts about environmental hazards, evacuation/shelter information, safety alerts, shelter in place alerts and missing persons/be on the lookout (BOLO) notifications. Landline phones are automatically enrolled for Community alerts, Community alerts to mobile phones and email addresses are only included when people enroll. Residents and people who work in Chattooga County are encouraged to enroll now either by calling or texting “Alert” to (706 230-5114) or by going to the website http://hyper-reach.com/gachattoogasignup.html.

Citizens can also download the Hyper-Reach Anywhere app on their smartphone. Hyper-Reach Anywhere is a free smartphone app that allows individual citizens to

manage and monitor the alerts they receive, both for their home and office addresses and for other addresses they care about such as those of elderly relatives or friends.

“We’re honored to have been selected by Chattooga County, GA to provide its emergency alerts,” said Sam Asher, President of Hyper-Reach. “It’s gratifying to be part of an effort to save lives and protect property and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

The Chattooga County Office of Emergency Preparedness is an agency with a

mission to protect the citizens of Chattooga County. Under the direction of

Chattooga County Government, the county/city provides law enforcement, emergency planning, 911, EMS and other vital services. Therefore, Chattooga County EMA/E-911, The City of Summerville, Chattooga County Water District and the Town of Trion will offer Chattooga County citizens access to the mass notification system of Hyper Reach to send emergency messages to all or any affected areas of our county should an emergency situation arise.

Hyper-Reach (www.hyper-reach.com) is a mass notification system with over 15 years of experience in emergency messaging. Hyper-Reach sends messages via automated telephone calls, text messaging (SMS), email, and social media, such as Twitter. Other uses of Hyper-Reach include Amber alerts, toxic chemical warnings, and armed shooter alerts. In addition to 911 centers, Hyper-Reach is used by law enforcement, educational institutions, and corporations.

For more information about Hyper-Reach, go to www.hyper-reach.com or call 855-266-8439 (855 2-Notify).