A free service is available to Yakima area residents that provides emergency alerts via voice or text communications.

Offered by Everbridge, the service is the emergency notification system for Yakima Valley Emergency Management.

“I encourage City of Yakima residents to sign up for this system so they can stay in the know when there are emergencies in our area,” said Assistant Yakima Mayor Dulce Gutiérrez, who also chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Sign up for the emergency alert system by clicking www.yakimacounty.us/AlertYakima

Information is also available by visiting www.co.yakima.wa.us/oem

“It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up and is very simple,” said Yakima Fire Chief Aaron Markham. “If someone is signing up via a mobile device they need to go to the app store and download Everbridge.”

Users can opt-in to enter their contact information and subscribe to emergency notifications based on their location. The information is protected and will not be used for any other purpose.

They can also specify particular times during the day when they would prefer to block notifications. Users can select notification options that include text, e-mail, cell phone, home landline, work phone or the mobile app.

This system will be used to notify users about imminent threats to health and safety as well as informational notifications that affect their locations or work environments. Administrators will send notifications regarding severe weather or other local emergencies via the notification methods that users specify.