Cedar Park Alert System Upgrade Requires Residents' Action

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS — The City of Cedar Park’s regional notification system known as CPAlertMe — a member of the WarnCentralTexas Network — is now simply known as Warn Central Texas, officials said on Wednesday.

Warn Central Texas is the regional notification system of the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), of which Cedar Park is a part. CAPCOG is upgrading the system that powers WarnCentralTexas.org to bring residents emergency and public safety warnings they need to protect their families, properties and selves, city officials explained.

As part of the upgrade, the City of Cedar Park and CAPCOG recommend that previously self-registered participants of CPAlertMe update their notification information by using the link inside an email sent through the new Everbridge system, officials urged.

Current self-registered Cedar Park participants of the CPAlertMe-a member of the Warn Central Texas Network should have received an email from Warn Central Texas using a noreply@everbridge.net, noreply@everbridge.com or noreply@everbridgemail.com email address.

Following the link inside the email will give them access to a user account portal that lets them update multiple voice and text phone numbers as well as email addresses and physical addresses. Users also can opt in to receive particular national weather alerts, such as severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, and flashflood warnings. After updating their notification information, the portal grants them access to make future updates and read active notifications in their area sent by their local governments.

WarnCentralTexas.org is a free public service provided by CAPCOG in conjunction with the region’s cities and counties for individuals living, working or visiting Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson counties. Using this system, emergency responders can send hyper-local, targeted messages to people in specific neighborhoods or streets. Local governments communicate primarily in English, and make every effort where possible to also send critical alerts in Spanish. The notification information is strictly used by local governments to send emergency warnings and opted-in messages.

If a resident receives multiple emails from the system requesting they update their information, it is extremely important they do so using the link in the email, city officials stressed. Updating their information will ensure its accuracy letting them continue to receive emergency warnings for their current address and prevent them from receiving the same notification multiple times.

Residents who haven’t registered to receive emergency warnings in the past through CPAlertMe or Warn Central Texas should do so now by logging on to WarnCentralTexas.org. It is important, officials added, to note newer mobile phone models receive federal notifications, such as Amber Alerts. WarnCentralTexas.org is a separate system and a critical tool for local first responders to reach the affected public during an emergency. All jurisdictions in the ten-county region can use the system to share critical emergency information events, such as:

• Evacuations from floods and wildfires.
• Shelter-in-place information during law enforcement incidents.
• Public health and medical emergency messages.

About the regional notification system: CAPCOG uses a regional notification system (RNS), WarnCentralTexas.org, as a crucial public-safety tool. The web-based tool is used by Central Texas governments to alert the public to emergency and optional non-emergency situations. It's an effective tool for notifying a relatively large number of people in a short period of time. Its current vendor for the RNS is Everbridge. CAPCOG and Everbridge will not distribute any information provided by residents.

About CAPCOG

The Capital Area Council of Governments, governed by elected officials from the ten-county region it serves, has worked for more than 45 years as an advocate, planner and coordinator on important regional issues. Programs and services related to public safety and emergency response, environmental planning, economic and community development and the elderly are delivered at a regional level to leverage funding, maximize cooperation and eliminate duplication. CAPCOG serves Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis and Williamson counties.

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