Tuscaloosa County EMA Apologizes For Early-Morning Emergency Notification Calls

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) took to social media Saturday morning to apologize after some residents received unexpected phone calls from the county's new emergency notification system around 4 a.m.

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In its statement Saturday morning, the agency said the calls were the result of the recent implementation of the new platform that is intended to improve emergency communications across Tuscaloosa County.

As Patch previously reported, the Tuscaloosa County EMA implemented RAVE Alert on Friday, a new emergency notification system that will replace the county's current Everbridge-based system, TuscALERT.

Officials said that during the transition to the new system, the agency chose to prioritize ensuring residents received critical alerts rather than risk someone missing an important notification. As a result, some residents received unintended phone calls during the early morning hours.

"We understand that these calls were disruptive and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience," the agency said.

Tuscaloosa County EMA said staff members have identified the issue and adjusted the system's settings to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Under the revised notification procedures, phone calls will only be used for tornado watches and tornado warnings.

All other emergency notifications will be sent through text messages and email.

"Reliable and timely emergency notifications are critical to keeping our community safe, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to enhance these capabilities and better serve the residents of Tuscaloosa County," the statement said.

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