Great Smoky Mountain Journal-City of Gatlinburg Receiving New Emergency Alert System To Replace Warning System Damaged By November Wildfires




The Great Smoky Mountain Journal Staff Reports Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:20 AM

City of Gatlinburg Receiving New Emergency Alert System To Replace Warning System Damaged By November Wildfires
The City of Gatlinburg has purchased a robust new emergency alert system to replace the flood warning system that was severely damaged during the deadly wildfires last November. The city says the system will be implemented in two phases. The first has already been installed and operational, which involves five emergency sirens that can emit an emergency tone and voice message. It covers a larger area of downtown than the previous system did. The second phase has been approved and construction is underway. It consists of four additional siren locations that to expand the system to Ski Mountain and east of the city to the Pittman Center boundary. The system is also capable of pushing notifications to email, social media, desktops, smartphones, landlines, radios, text messages, message boards and outdoor sirens. It can integrate with the IPAWS system to provide alerts from the National Weather Service.