Yukon Police Create New Emergency Alert System

By Jon Jordan, NEWS 9

YUKON, Oklahoma -- With storms prone to rip through Oklahoma, like the Feb. 10 tornadoes, Yukon police are setting up a new emergency text alert system in their community to help warn residents.

The system is very similar to what universities are using around the country to notify their students of a threat on campus. In a matter of seconds, Yukon police said they can send a message out to their citizens alerting them of a potential threat.

For example, if a tornado was barreling towards Yukon, in a few clicks, local police could use their computer system to create a message alert for Yukon citizens.

From there it goes to the 911 call center where dispatchers are able to send the message out to those citizens in Yukon who have signed up to receive the alerts via email or cell phone.

"It's got to be a true emergency. We don't want them getting annoyed they are getting these messages. We want them to know when they get the message it is a true emergency," said Klare Ly with the Yukon Police Department.

The system can also be used to let residents know when power will be back on during an outage or to send out an amber alert as well as many other threats.

The system cost nearly three times as much as the previous alert system, but unlike the old one this one requires no up-keep.

There will be a community wide test on February 26. To sign up for the alerts, you can call 405-354-1711 or you can sign up online with the City of Yukon's connectivity Web site.