System in Place to Notify Selma Residents of Emergencies, Other Information
SELMA, Calif. – The City of Selma is reminding residents of a service that has been in place since 2006 to assist them. Connect-CTY allows City staff to provide citizens with notification in the event of an emergency, unforeseen incident or other issue.
“This program allows the City of Selma to provide notification to our residents and businesses in the event of an emergency. This system allows us to immediately contact residents and businesses in a matter of seconds,” said D-B Heusser, Selma city manager.
The way the system works is that a recorded message is sent to every telephone number in Selma. As it is a computer based system, it is capable of sending 7,000 calls a minute, therefore all of the residents and businesses of Selma should receive the message within a couple of minutes. In addition, it has the capability to phone specific areas of the city.
Having the use of Connect-CTY available is an important step in emergency preparedness. Prior to 2006, the City of Selma was concerned that there was no way to reach local residents with important information. Residents and businesses also have the capability to register telephones that are not traditional landlines (cell phone, e-mail, unlisted phone number).
“We have used the system to notify of cooling/heating centers, flooding, dog license events, and other notifications,” Heusser said.
Citizens can register their unlisted phones, cell phones, e-mail addresses and other information by either calling Selma City Hall at (559) 891-2200 or going to the City of Selma website www.cityofselma.com and clicking on the Connect-CTY icon on the bottom left side of the page.
