New Seneca County Emergency Notification System

Telephone-based mass notification systems are used by thousands of public safety agencies across the US to warn citizens about local emergencies, hazards, and other threats.  Now Seneca County announces they have selected Hyper-Reach to help bring this same life-saving capability to the area.  Hyper-Reach is a state-of-the-art mass emergency notification system designed specifically for public safety.  The county expects to have the service fully operational by the end of May.

The new emergency alert system will provide rapid notification of hazardous and urgent situations using a mix of telephone calls, text and email messages, and even TTY/TDD service for the hearing impaired.  The system sends thousands of these messages to geographically targeted households in seconds and can simultaneously deliver them to an even broader audience via social media, Alexa-enabled smart speakers, browser notifications as well as sending broadcast messages to most current mobile telephones (made since 2011) in an affected area by providing access to FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. 

“Our job is to protect the citizens of Seneca County as effectively and cost-efficiently as possible.” said John Spahr, Director Seneca County EMA.  “We reviewed all the major vendors for emergency notification service, and Hyper-Reach gave us everything we needed at an excellent price.  We’re excited about this new capability.”

The County plans to use the service primarily for alerts about weather and environmental hazards, criminal activity, and missing persons.  Landline phones are automatically enrolled for Community alerts, but Weather alerts to landline phones and Community and Weather alerts to VoIP phones, mobile phones, and email addresses are only included when people enroll.    Residents and people who work in Seneca County are encouraged to enroll now (using a county address) either by calling or texting “Alert” to 419-455-1366 or by going to the website: 

http://hyper-reach.com/ohsenecasignup.html

Residents can get emergency alerts via their Alexa-enabled smart speakers just by saying “Alexa, enable Hyper-Reach” and following the Alexa-provided instructions. With more than 70 million US households using Alexa devices, there are hundreds or thousands of County residents with Alexa units.

Residents can also download the Hyper-Reach Anywhere app on their smartphones.  Hyper-Reach Anywhere is a free smartphone app that allows individual residents to manage and monitor the alerts they receive, both for their home, office, and other addresses they care about, such as those of elderly relatives or friends.

“We’re honored to have been selected by Seneca County to provide its emergency alerts,” said Russ Bell, Vice President of Hyper-Reach.  “It’s gratifying to be part of an effort to save lives and protect property and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

About Hyper-Reach

Hyper-Reach (www.hyper-reach.com) is a mass notification system with over 20 years of experience in emergency messaging.  Hyper-Reach sends messages via automated telephone calls, text messaging (SMS), email, smart speakers and social media, such as Facebook, X and NextDoor.  Other uses of Hyper-Reach include Amber alerts, toxic chemical warnings, and armed shooter alerts.  In addition to 911 centers, Hyper-Reach is used by law enforcement, educational institutions, and corporations.