Medina County has changed the system behind its emergency alerts, but the switch comes with an inconvenient catch: people already signed up must register again. That includes residents and others who depend on county warnings when severe weather, hazardous conditions, or public-safety emergencies hit.
The Medina County Emergency Management Agency moved from its former WENS platform to a new Regroup system, and existing contact information will not transfer automatically. Deputy Director Josh Tidey described the vendor change in Cleveland.com coverage published today.
In a July 29 announcement, Medina County EMA said the new countywide service is called Medina County Emergency Alerts. The free program can send messages based on a registered address to residents, workers and businesses throughout the county.
Old WENS Registrations Will Not Carry Over
Anyone who previously enrolled through WENS needs to complete a fresh registration to keep receiving alerts, according to Cleveland.com. New users can also sign up through the county emergency management agency's alert registration page.
Messages can arrive by phone call, text message or email, and registrants can choose the types of notifications they want. The county's alert page says the system can also provide optional National Weather Service warnings tied to the address on file.
Potential alerts include severe weather, hazardous-materials incidents, evacuations and law-enforcement activity. Officials can send a warning countywide or target a specific area, which is useful when an emergency is serious for one neighborhood but not quite a reason for everyone in Medina County to start panic-refreshing their phones.
The vendor change follows the county's adoption of a new mass-notification plan in April. The Medina County Emergency Management Agency said that plan sets the framework for issuing emergency alerts, warnings and notifications through the county system.
The agency says registration information is kept private and is not shared or sold. Residents and business owners who need help signing up can contact Medina County EMA at 330-722-9240.
