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Cochise County emergency management warns of a 'very, very wet' monsoon; urges alert signups and sandbag use
Summary
Emergency services director Daniel Duchan told KWCD listeners the monsoon season begins June 15, stressed that flooding is a major local hazard with 8 of 19 county emergency declarations in 50 years attributed to floods, and urged residents to sign up for geo‑targeted alerts and use county sandbag sites.
Daniel Duchan of Cochise County Emergency Management joined KWCD’s First Watch to urge residents to prepare for a strong monsoon, sign up for county emergency alerts and use county sandbag sites to reduce flood risk.
"Monsoon season officially starts June 15th," Duchan said, noting that local storms commonly arrive later but that this season’s forecasts suggest heavy rain. He emphasized that flooding is a life‑safety issue and warned that flash floods can arrive even when it is not raining at a person’s location.
Duchan cited the county’s history of emergency declarations to underscore flood risk: "Over the last 50 years, we've had 19 emergency declarations. Eight of those were for flooding." He added statewide context: "Across the state of Arizona there's been 250 emergency declarations in the last 50 years — 105 of those have been flooding."
To reach residents during an emergency, Duchan recommended pre‑signing for the county's geo‑targeted alert service so alerts follow a tied address rather than only the location of a phone: "If you sign up in advance, you can tie your address to your cell phone number so that you'll get that alert even if you're at work in town." On air the signup link was read as coaches.mmyfreealerts.com (as pronounced during the broadcast); listeners should consult official Cochise County communications for the correct signup address.
Duchan also described sandbag availability: the county provides empty bags and sand at several public works road yards on a self‑serve basis; he directed listeners to the county public works page (given on air as cochise.az.gov/publicworks) for a list of locations and cautioned that residents must fill bags themselves.
Hosts and officials repeated the safety slogan "Turn around, don't drown" and urged residents to exercise caution near washes and low‑water crossings. Duchan said the county can send alerts for many life‑safety events beyond flooding, including fire evacuations or localized public‑health notices. He closed by reminding listeners to dial 911 in an emergency and to use the county’s official sites and social pages for preparedness resources.
The program included phone numbers and contact pointers for non‑emergency information and signups; the broadcast pronunciation of web addresses was inconsistent at times, so listeners are advised to verify links on Cochise County's official website.
