TO GET ALERTS* Go to www.nixle.com and click “sign up now.”* Create an account by choosing a user name and password.* Enter an e-mail address and cell phone number where you would like to receive messages.* Enter your address or nearby intersection.* Click “sign me up.”* Customize your alerts by clicking “locations.”* Click “add new” to add other addresses in your town or around the country to keep track of threats where loved ones live or where you visit.* Click settings and select a location and subscribe to receive messages from each participating government agency automatically listed by checking the “subscribe” option.* To add Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to your location, click the “search for it here” link, and type “Tennessee Emergency” into the find box.Source: Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
Now you can get accident alerts from the Sequoyah or Watts Bar nuclear plants through social media on your computer or cell phone.
It’s not a tweet, exactly, but close. And it’s far easier to hear than the 108 sirens locally dedicated to any Sequoyah accident or the 99 sirens dedicated to Watts Bar, according to officials.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and TVA are encouraging region residents to sign up for a free online messaging service called Nixle.
“We recently had the graded nuclear accident drill here a few weeks ago at Sequoyah, and we demonstrated [Nixle] for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and they were very exited about it,” said David Green, TEMA emergency management planner. “They said it was the best use of social media [for emergency alerts] in the Southeast.”
In November, TVA mailed calendars with emergency information to residents within a 10-mile radius of each local nuclear plant. In Hamilton County, that includes 42,000 homes surrounding Sequoyah, spokeswoman Myra Ireland said.
“The new twist this year is Nixle,” she said.
Green said the Nixle system allows emergency managers to issue alerts based on geographical area — using ZIP codes, for instance. The system also can display crime alerts, earthquake alerts and other important emergency information.
Users can choose what kind of alerts they want to receive and how — by cell phone text messages or e-mail.
The sirens will still sound. And emergency workers will continue to notify radio and television stations to sound alerts.
“This just complements that,” Green said. “And it’s secure, and there will be no spam.”
TVA’s nuclear safety information calendars also can be downloaded in PDF form at the utility’s website, http://www.tva.gov.
Contact staff writer Pam Sohn at psohn@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6346.