Matagorda County Judge Nate McDonald, along with the Matagorda County Emergency Operations Center staff and the Emergency Management Coordinator have partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to bring IPAWS technology to the county for emergency communications.
The county performed an internal pre-deployment test this week.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
This system was created to maximize the accessibility of local and national safety communication systems.
“The idea of using the latest and best technology to protect the citizens and visitors of Matagorda County is the right thing to do, and this is the right time to make the change,” said Amanda Campos, the Emergency Management Coordinator.
“The Siren Network has been a great tool to warn people during emergency situations, but it is time to upgrade to the best use technology.”
“The goal of the Emergency Operations Center is the health and safety of every citizen and visitor to our county; the Public Alert Systems will allow us to protect the public in a more direct way,” said County Judge Nate McDonald.
This technology will speed up safety communication by reaching people faster, no matter where they are or what is happening.
One of the primary benefits of the IPAWS system is the use of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs).
WEAs are short emergency messages from authorized federal, state, local public alerting authorities that can be broadcast from cell towers to mobile devices in a locally targeted area.
Many people have already experienced receiving a WEA on their cell phone.
Amber Alerts and Tornado Warnings that appear on cell phones following an alarm sound are WEAs already being used to reach Texans through their mobile devices.
One thing that will be a change with the new IPAWS system will be the removal of the Siren Network in the area surrounding the South Texas Project (STP).
The siren system will be retired following the implementation of our local IPAWS system.
After that, WEAs will be used by the county to alert residents in any emergency in the area around the South Texas Project.
Local warnings from county and city officials will now be possible. Bay City Mayor Robert Nelson said, “This tool will allow city officials to send messages to selected areas of the city or we can provide a message city wide. This gives us the flexibility we need to keep the public safe and informed.”
The Palacios community will find this tool will greatly benefit their community.
Palacios Mayor Linh Chau said, “Bringing this advanced technology to the Palacios community is important for me and my staff.
“Our location along the Gulf Coast can bring sudden weather conditions, with this tool we can get our citizens informed and allow us to warn them in advance of an unsafe situation.”
More information and details will be communicated in the coming weeks as we get closer to an implementation time for this project.
