Outdoor Warning Sirens

The City of Lewisville has twelve (12) outdoor warning sirens. The sirens can be activated individually, in groups, or all together, depending on the situation. These sirens are intended to warn citizens who are outside of a possible dangerous situation, including severe weather. The sirens are not, however, intended to warn people indoors.

If you are outdoors and hear the warning sirens activate, you should immediately go indoors and listen to local television and/or radio to get information concerning the situation. Most commonly, the sirens will be used to warn citizens of severe weather including tornado warnings but the system could also be used to warn of hazardous materials incidents or other such situations. Do not call 911 to inquire the reason for the siren activation as this will flood the dispatch center and prevent citizens reporting emergencies from getting assistance.

To ensure that the system is operating normally, the outdoor warning sirens are tested on the first Wednesday of each month at 1:00 PM. The sirens will not be tested during inclement weather or if severe weather is impending to avoid any confusion.

NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio

When inside your home, a NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio (NWR) is the best way to stay informed about possible severe weather and other emergencies occurring in your area. A NWR is a small device that plugs into an electrical socket in your home. The NWR remains in a standby mode until activated. When the National Weather Service is notified of impending severe weather or other emergency such as an Amber Alert or chemical spill in your area, they will send out a signal activating all the NWR within the affected area. A short audio message will be played notifying citizens of the situation and giving instructions on how to stay safe. NWR utilizes Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology to warn only those who might be affected of the situation. After purchasing your NWR, you will easily be able to program it with your specific city or county to ensure you are only receiving notifications for your geographic area.

CodeRED

CodeRED is a geographical based system where street addresses are needed to select the telephone numbers that will receive emergency notification calls. The system uses existing public data bases to collect telephone numbers for the call-outs, but sometimes those data bases contain outdated information. Therefore, no one should automatically assume his or her telephone number is included. All individuals and businesses should register, who have unlisted phone numbers, those who have changed their phone number or address within the last year and those who use a cellular phone as their home phone. The system works with cellular phones but requires a Lewisville street address. People who have recently moved to the city but kept the same listed or unlisted number will need to update their address in the database. When entering information, please fill out all of the screens. The newest data entered will replace the old data.

Examples of times when the CodeRED system could be utilized are: drinking water contamination, utility outage, evacuation notice & route, missing person, fires or floods, bomb threat, hostage situation, chemical spill or gas leak, and other emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential for life safety.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CodeRED?
The CodeRED Emergency Notification System is a new, fast communication service allowing the City of Lewisville to notify citizens of an emergency situation. It enables the City to provide mass notification quickly and easily.

How will I benefit from this service?
This high-speed telephone system will allow the City to contact participants to provide information about a critical situation, what action needs to be taken, and notification that the situation has been resolved.

What do I have to do to receive this benefit?
To receive CodeRED calls, you will need to click on the CodeRED icon and enter your information. This service is free.

How does it work?
CodeRED delivers the important message through a high-speed telephone calling system to a phone number purchased through a credit bureau or through a number that you input via the web. City staff will access CodeRED via a secure portal on the web. A "call area" will be marked identifying street addresses. Telephone numbers will be matched up electronically to these addresses and a prerecorded message will be sent out via the telephone with information about the incident and possibly instructions for action to be taken.

What should I do if I receive a CodeRED message?
* Listen Carefully
* Follow Instructions
* Don’t hang up until you hear the whole message (the message will not be repeated)
* DO NOT call 9-1-1 unless instructed to do so (You will only tie up emergency lines)

What does a CodeRED message sound like?
The message will always begin with the statement “This is a message from the City of Lewisville (department name addressing the situation).” The remaining text will provide information about the situation including how and if people need to respond. You may be directed to turn to a local radio or television station for updates and additional information. Here’s a sample of what you might hear:

Chemical Spill – Shelter in Place
This is a message from the City of Lewisville Emergency Management Office. Due to a hazardous material release in your immediate area, all citizens are requested to shelter in their homes, turn off all heating, air conditioning and ventilation, close windows and doors and tape any gaps that will allow air inside. Shelter within the inner most part of the house. Bring all pets inside. Please do not call 9-1-1. Once the situation is resolved, you will be notified via the telephone. Thank you for your cooperation.

Chemical Spill – All Clear
This is a message from the City of Lewisville Emergency Management Office. The hazardous materials release has been taken care of and it is now safe to resume normal activities. No necessary action need be taken. Thank you for your cooperation.

What should I do if I don’t receive a message?
Your area of the community may not be affected. In which case, you won’t receive a call even if it’s only a block away. Or, maybe your phone number and address don’t match up, or are not even in the system. In that case, we encourage you to return to the top of the page, click on the CodeRED icon and follow the instructions.

No one should automatically assume his or her telephone number is included. All Lewisville businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, those who have changed their phone number or address within the last year and those who use a cellular phone as their home phone. Registration can be completed by clicking on the CodeRED link and following the instructions.

Will the system work with cell phones?
Yes. But, your cell phone number needs to be associated with your Lewisville address (this notification only applies to incidents occurring in Lewisville). We encourage you to register your cell phone number.

What is CodeRED used for?
CodeRED will be used for significant incidents and events where the timely notification of an affected population or geographic area is essential.

Will CodeRED be used for all emergency notifications?
Yes. The system will be used to notify citizens when an emergency situation arises affecting citizens of Lewisville.

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