If a hurricane is on the horizon, a pandemic has struck or a child is missing, you could soon be among the first to know.
Starting on Sept. 1, the state's Reverse 911 goes live.
Several towns are getting the word out through emergency notification systems, but this kicks it up a notch by covering every nook and cranny of the state.
You can get your dispatches of doom on whichever device you prefer, you just have to tell the state whether to ping you on your Blackberry, iPhone, fax machine or your good-old land-line.
“Agencies such as my office, the state police and the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will be able to instantly alert people to a wide range of dangers –- or to ask them to keep an eye out for a lost child or missing senior,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in a news release.
If you prefer to stay in the dark, you can do that too. There’s an opt-out option.
“This is a major step forward for state and local governments in meeting their top responsibility: safeguarding the health and welfare of residents,” Rell said. “Whatever the situation, the emergency alert system means far more people will ‘get the word’ far more quickly.”
