Guilford Emergency Alert, Notification, and Information System

The Guilford Emergency Alert, Notification, and Information System “G.E.A.N.I.” is an automated system to notify you of urgent and emergency information through your cell phone, home phone and/or email. The system provides time sensitive, geographically based public safety messages through voice, text, and e-mail, and is available to all residents and businesses within Guilford County (including City of High Point residents in Forsyth, Davidson, and Randolph Counties).

The system is activated by public safety personnel to provide you with information about evacuations, shelter-in-place incidents, severe weather response and recovery efforts, law enforcement events, and other urgent incidents that affect your safety.

Additional Information

If you have a traditional land line telephone number which is not marked as “unpublished” you are automatically enrolled in G.E.A.N.I., and will receive notifications affecting your area.

Cellular and VoIP telephones are not automatically added to the system database. If you would like receive notifications on your cellular or VoIP device to, you must self register on the G.E.A.N.I. system.

Participation is voluntary and your number will not be shared for any other purpose.

Although this is a free service, you may be charged a standard fee from your cellular phone service provider if you exceed your current data plan for receiving voice calls or text messages. The agencies involved in G.E.A.N.I. are not responsible for any charges that may be incurred as a result of receiving these alerts.

Voice notifications will be sent to your designated phone from telephone number (336) 641 – 8100 and we recommend adding this number to your phone’s contact list.

If you wish not to receive notifications, you can opt out of the system by sending an e-mail to gcemsupport@guilford-es.com.

For general questions about G.E.A.N.I. you can contact Guilford County Emergency Management at 336-641-2278.

For technical questions about G.E.A.N.I. you can contact  gcemsupport@guilford-es.com.

Wireless Emergency Alerts

The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service allows alerting authorities,
such as Guilford County to use FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to send geographically targeted text-like alerts to the public via their cell phones and other mobile devices. With WEA, warnings can be sent to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without need to download an app or subscribe to a service. To learn more about the WEA, explore the frequently asked questions tab below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) important to me?

• Alerts received at the right time can help keep you safe during an emergency. With WEA, warnings can be sent to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without need to download an app or subscribe to a service.

What are WEA messages?

• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are emergency messages sent by authorized government alerting authorities through your mobile carrier.

What types of alerts will I receive? What does a WEA message look like? Extreme weather, and other threatening emergencies in your area

• AMBER Alerts
• Presidential Alerts during a national emergency
• WEA will look like a text message. The WEA message will show the type and time of the alert, any action you should take, and the agency issuing the alert. The message will be no more than 90 characters.

How will I know the difference between WEA and a regular text message?

• WEA messages include a special tone and vibration, both repeated twice.

What types of WEA messages will the National Weather Service send? What are AMBER Alerts?

• Tsunami Warnings
• Tornado and Flash Flood Warnings
• Hurricane, Typhoon, Dust Storm and Extreme Wind Warnings
• AMBER Alerts are urgent bulletins issued in the most serious child-abduction cases. The America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry.

Who will send WEAs to issue AMBER Alerts?

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in coordination with State and Local public safety officials, sends out AMBER Wireless Emergency Alerts through IPAWS.

What should I do when I receive a WEA message?

• Follow any action advised by the message. Seek more details from local media or authorities.

Will I receive a WEA message if I’m visiting an area where I don’t live, or outside the area where my phone is registered?

• Yes, if you have a WEA-capable phone and your wireless carrier participates in the program. (More than 100 carriers, including all of the largest carriers, do.)

What if I travel into a threat area after a WEA message is already sent?

• If you travel into a threat area after an alert is first sent, your WEA-capable device will receive the message when you enter the area.

When will I start receiving WEA messages?

• It depends. WEA capabilities were available beginning in April 2012, but many mobile devices, especially older ones, are not WEA-capable. When you buy a new mobile device, it probably will be able to receive WEA messages.

Is this the same service public safety agencies have asked the public to register for?

• No, but they are complementary. Local agencies may have asked you to sign up to receive telephone calls, text messages, or emails. Those messages often include specific details about a critical event. WEAs are very short messages designed to get your attention in a critical situation. They may not give all the details you receive from other notification services.

Will I be charged for receiving WEA messages?

• No. This service is offered for free by wireless carriers. WEA messages will not count towards texting limits on your wireless plan.

Does WEA know where I am? Is it tracking me?

• No. Just like emergency weather alerts you see on local TV, WEAs are broadcast from area cell towers to mobile devices in the area. Every WEA-capable phone within range receives the message, just like TV that shows the emergency weather alert if it is turned on. But, the TV stations, like WEA, don’t know exactly who is tuned in.

Will a WEA message interrupt my phone conversations?

• No, the alert will be delayed until you finish your call.

How often will I receive WEA messages?

• You may get very few WEA messages, or you may receive frequent messages when conditions change during an emergency. The number of messages depends on the number of imminent threats to life or property in your area.

If, during an emergency, I can’t make or receive calls or text messages due to network congestion, will I still be able to receive a WEA message?

• Yes, WEA messages are not affected by network congestion.

What if I don’t want to receive WEA messages?

• You can opt-out of receiving WEA messages for imminent threats and AMBER alerts, but not for Presidential messages. To opt out, adjust settings on your mobile device.

How will I receive alerts if I don’t have a WEA-capable device?

• WEA is only one of the ways you receive emergency alerts. Other sources include NOAA Weather Radio, news broadcasts, the Emergency Alert System on radio and TV programs, outdoor sirens, and other alerting methods offered by local and state public safety agencies.

Emergency Alert System

The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), is a modernization and integration of the nation’s existing and future alert and warning systems, technologies, and infrastructure.

• IPAWS’ EAS is the message dissemination pathway that sends warnings via broadcast, cable, satellite, and wireline services. EAS may be used by state and local authorities, in cooperation with the broadcast community, to deliver important emergency information, such as weather information, AMBER alerts, and local incident information targeted to specific areas.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, satellite digital audio service and direct broadcast satellite providers, cable television systems, and wireless cable systems to provide the President with a communications capability to address the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency.

• The President has sole responsibility for determining when the national-level EAS will be activated. FEMA is responsible for national-level EAS tests and exercises.
• EAS is also used when all other means of alerting the public are unavailable, providing an added layer of resiliency to the suite of available emergency communication tools.

For more information on the Emergency Alert System, visit FEMA’s EAS webpage.

Weather Radio

 NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information from the nearest National Weather Service office.

• NWR broadcasts official warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• It also broadcasts alerts of non-weather emergencies such as national security, natural, environmental, and public safety through the Emergency Alert System.

Social Media

Ready Guilford currently utilizes both Facebook and Twitter to send and receive preparedness and emergency information. While this should not be your primary means of receiving emergency information, social media often validates for many the need to react to emergency and disaster situations.

From NOAA service assessments after the 2011 tornado outbreaks in Alabama and Joplin, we know that some people will go to shelter immediately after hearing a warning on NOAA Weather Radio, receiving Wireless Emergency Alerts on your cell phone or seeing it on television. However, many people typically wait for secondary confirmation before taking shelter. Social science research confirms this and finds that people are more likely to take preparedness measures in advance and action during an event when they observe others doing so, often seen through posts on social media.

Follow us on Twitter @readyguilford and on Facebook at facebook.com/readyguilford.

The ReadyNC.gov website has information and resources to help you plan, prepare, and stay informed for emergencies.