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Emergencies and weather can occur at any time and don’t adhere to regular business hours.

Lunenburg County officials used its CodeRED Notification system to inform citizens of impending weather and the status of emergency responses following the Valentine’s weekend ice storm that left thousands without power.

Citizens who are signed up for the CodeRed receive high-speed emergency mass notification services via telephone calls, text messages, or emails.

“The outgoing call average for each of our daily notifications during the storm was around 8,500,” County Administrator Tracy Gee said.

Gee said the county is also in the process of updating the 911 database as many people have discontinued using landlines.

During the storm outages, Gee said she talked with several citizens who had received CodeRED calls, and county officials were able to sign up several citizens for the system.

CodeRED officials said the system is not only a tool to provide information during an emergency.

“An effective mass notification solution does more than protect individuals and keep them safe. It also gives residents a sense of confidence,” CodeRED officials said. “They understand where to go when they need information about local hazards and impending emergencies.”

Citizens can sign up for the CodeRED Alert System by visiting https://www.lunenburgva.org/emergency_services/code_red_weather_warning_system.php