Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delaware County unveils short severe-weather preparedness video and urges residents to sign up for Delco Alerts
Summary
County communications and emergency management presented a two-minute severe-weather video explaining Delco Alerts, wireless emergency alerts, snow-level texts and the limits of outdoor sirens; officials urged residents to opt in and buy weather radios.
Delaware County officials unveiled a roughly two-minute severe-weather preparedness video to commissioners and said the clip will be posted to county websites and social media to explain local alerting tools.
Jane Haw, director of communications, introduced the video and credited Outsider Video and Motion Graphics for production. Alex McCarthy, director of emergency management, emphasized the county’s multi-tiered notification strategy, saying outdoor sirens are intended mainly for people outdoors while Delco Alerts and wireless emergency alerts provide additional warnings to residents and visitors.
McCarthy said Delco Alerts are an opt-in system managed by the county’s emergency communications/911 operation and can be received by people even if they are not physically located in the county. Snow-level alerts are texts sent by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office; the video directed residents to subscribe by texting "Delco Snow" to 888777. He also recommended weather radios for indoor alerting and said basic models cost around $40.
Officials noted that outdoor sirens are not designed to be reliably heard indoors and that residents should not rely on sirens as their only warning method. McCarthy estimated opt-in rates for systems like Delco Alerts typically range from about 15% to 25% of residents nationwide and encouraged higher local participation. He also provided situational updates: reservoirs constructed with Army Corps projects have limited residential flooding so far, though Gearheiser and Horseshoe roads remain closed and ODOT is monitoring Route 229.
Commissioners praised the video and asked staff to coordinate wider display; officials said they would post the video and follow up with 911 on sign-up metrics.
