Did You Sign Up For Code Red? Newport Police Want Residents To Sign Up For Emergency Alerts

NEWPORT, RI—With hurricane season here, Newport Police are reminding residents to sign up for Code Red, the emergency notifications system that sends alerts to residents by telephone, by text message or by e-mail. The system lets people know about all types of emergencies from bioterrorism to severe weather. The City has the service on its website. People do have to go online to register. (People who don't use the Internet might have a friend or relative do the enrollment for them.)

Once online, the system asks for a name, address, telephone number and (optionally) an e-mail address.

Code Red uses a number of popular cell phone providers but does not include all of them. (Straight Talk Wireless, for example, is not one of the options.) Residents can still sign up for telephone notifications, although they would not receive text messages.