Emergency Alerts and Notifications

Wireless Emergency Alerts and Alert Anne Arundel are separate systems that work together to keep you informed.

WEA:

• Registration: No registration required.
• How alerts are delivered: To WEA-capable mobile devices through participating wireless providers. 
• Who receives the alert: Compatible devices located within the targeted warning area. 
• Primary purpose: Urgent threats requiring immediate public protective action.
• When traveling: You may receive an alert whenever your device is inside an active warning area.
• Cost: No charge and no subscription required.

Alert Anne Arundel:

• Registration: Mobile phones and email addresses must be registered
• How alerts are delivered: Voice call, text message, email, and supported mobile app notifications
  Who receives the alert: Registered contacts, locations, or notification groups selected by the County
• Primary purpose: Emergency warnings, protective-action instructions, incident updates, government operations, and selected notifications
• When traveling: Messages can reach your registered phone or email even when you are away from home
• Cost: Registration is free; message and data rates may apply

Wireless Emergency Alerts, commonly called WEA, are short, attention-getting messages sent by authorized federal, state, or local public safety officials. They appear on compatible mobile devices with a distinctive sound and vibration.

WEA may be used for an imminent natural or human-caused threat, an urgent public safety situation, a missing-child alert, or a national emergency. Because WEA is reserved for critical warnings, not every County advisory or incident update will be sent through this system.

WEA follows the location of your mobile device—not your home address or telephone number. An alert is sent only to the geographic area that public safety officials identify as potentially affected.

This means:

• People in different parts of the County may receive different alerts.
• One household member may receive an alert while another does not.
• If you are outside the targeted area when an alert is issued, you may not receive it.
• If you enter the targeted area while the alert remains active, you may receive the message later.
• Visitors and people traveling through the affected area may receive the alert even if they do not live in Anne Arundel County.

Delivery may also be affected by device compatibility, wireless provider participation, reception, phone settings, or whether the device is turned on. Review your phone’s emergency alert settings and keep public safety alerts enabled.

Learn more from FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alerts guidance.

Alert Anne Arundel is the County’s opt-in mass notification service, powered by CivicReady. It allows Anne Arundel County to send emergency information and protective-action instructions directly to registered residents, businesses, and community members.

Notifications may be delivered by:

• Voice call
• Text message
• Email
• Supported mobile app notifications

Alert Anne Arundel may be used for:

• Evacuation and shelter-in-place instructions
• Hazardous weather
• Hazardous material spills or releases
• Missing or endangered persons
• Security and public safety incidents
• Water system concerns
• Shelter, cooling, or other emergency facility information
• Significant changes to County services or government operations
• Follow-up information during response and recovery

Subscribers may also be able to select additional notification groups, including NOAA weather alerts and participating County departments.

WEA and Alert Anne Arundel are complementary—not interchangeable.

WEA can quickly warn compatible mobile devices located within an immediate danger area, including devices belonging to visitors. Alert Anne Arundel provides the County with additional ways to contact registered users and may provide more detailed instructions, updates, images, and information that does not meet the threshold for a WEA.

Using both systems creates layers of protection. If one communication method is unavailable because of your location, phone settings, network conditions, a power outage, or another disruption, another method may still reach you.

Make emergency alerts part of your family plan. Receiving an alert is only the first step. Your household should know how to respond before an emergency occurs.

Include the following actions in your family emergency plan:

1. Enroll every household member. Register each adult’s mobile phone and email address with Alert Anne Arundel. Do not depend on one person’s device.
2. Keep WEA enabled. Review the emergency alert settings on every compatible mobile device in your household.
3. Keep your information current. Update your Alert Anne Arundel account whenever your telephone number, email address, home address, or notification preferences change.
4. Identify backup information sources. Plan to monitor the County website, official County social media, local television and radio, and a battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio.
5. Know your protective actions. Make sure everyone understands where to shelter, when to evacuate, where your family will meet, and how you will communicate if separated.
6. Plan for the entire household. Address the needs of children, older adults, people with disabilities, anyone who uses electrically powered medical equipment, people with limited English proficiency, pets, and service animals.
7. Maintain backup power. Keep phones charged and include portable charging banks, batteries, and charging cables in your emergency supplies.
8. Choose an out-of-area contact. Identify someone outside the affected area who can help household members reconnect if local calls or services are disrupted.
9. Practice and review your plan. Review notification settings, contact information, meeting locations, and household responsibilities at least twice each year.

Visit Ready.gov’s family emergency planning resources to create or update your plan.

When You Receive an Emergency Alert

• Stop and read or listen to the entire message.
• Follow protective-action instructions promptly.
• Do not wait for a second alert before acting.
• Check the time and source before sharing the message.
• Monitor official County sources for updates.
• Help notify family members, neighbors, or others who may not have received the alert.
• Call 9-1-1 only when you have an immediate police, fire, or medical emergency.