Plymouth County: Sheriff urges residents to register with “CodeRED” ahead of storm

With Hurricane Irene expected to hit the South Shore on Sunday, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald is reminding area residents that if they haven’t already registered their cell phone number with the “CodeRED” system, they should do it now.

“It allows local officials– police, fire, EMS, local towns– to put out emergency messages, to broadcast telephone calls to all the residents–and it’s a very, very important service,” said Sheriff McDonald.

McDonald says that if your phone number is a listed, land-line phone it probably is already in the CodeRED system. But if you have an unlisted number, have changed your phone number within the last year, or if your primary phone number is a cellphone, McDonald says you should contact the Sheriff’s Department.

The CodeRED system automatically places phone calls to everyone in an affected area.

“They’ll be a recorded message, generally by one of our staff people, reading a script that would be prepared by the police, fire, or EMS of your local town or your town government indicating such things as road closures, flooding, shelter notifications, or evacuation orders,” said McDonald.

You can find out more at the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department website.