CodeRED is the new emergency notification system for the counties of San Benito and Santa Cruz. In the event of an emergency or critical community situation, notifications by telephone will be made to affected areas on will be made to registered landlines and cell phones. Examples include: evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices and missing child reports.
CodeRED has the capability of sending thousands of messages in a short time based on the geographic location of the incident, police said in a press release.
People with a landline are automatically registered in the emergency system. However, many homes do not have a landline and citizens rely on their cell phones or voice over internet protocol (VOIP) phones.
The Hollister Police Department and Santa Cruz Regional 911 are encouraging residents to register their cell phones and VOIP lines through CodeRED to ensure they receive the notifications. There is no fee for the registration and you can register as many phones as you would like.
Alerts will not reach citizens that are not registered in CodeRED. “In an emergency, time is very important and the quicker you receive the notification the better the chances of remaining safe,” the release said.
Persons wishing to register their cell phone or VOIP lines can visit the Hollister Police Website and click the icon in the introduction page, visit CodeRED directly or visit the Santa Cruz Regional webpage.