The Town of Norwich now has a new way to get the word out to its residents during an emergency. CodeRED is a robocall system through Hanover, NH Dispatch that alerts residents to anything from a local chemical spill to a weather emergency.
CodeRED automatically calls listed residential land lines. Businesses, cell phone users, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) users and residents with unlisted numbers will have to register those lines if they want to receive alerts from the system. An announcement from the Norwich Fire Department likens the system to 911 in reverse:
If, for example, there is a missing child in your part of town, or a severe weather warning, or chemical/gas leaks that may require you to evacuate, your emergency service providers will be able to reach you immediately by telephone (landline, cell phone and TDD/TTY) with information you need.
The system can target a specific neighborhood, or get a message out to the entire town. For cell phone users, there's also a CodeRED app that will allow access to local alerts when traveling to another community that uses the same service.
