All Over Albany

Snow emergencies, now via email and text

Check it out: the City of Albany is now issuing snow emergency alerts via email and text.

The city is using New York State's NY-ALERT system to distribute the updates. The sign-up process for the alerts takes a few steps, but it's relatively easy. Once you have an account, you can customize the alerts by location and type (if you want to know about ship hijackings, there's an option for that). The release says the city will also be distributing road closure info this way, too.

The full release explaining the process is after the jump.

Snow emergency info has been available by calling 476-SNOW (7669). But pushing the updates out via email and text is a good idea.

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MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Det. James Miller
November 15, 2010 518-462-8756

MAYOR JENNINGS AND CITY OF ALBANY ANNOUNCE NEW CITIZEN ALERT PROGRAM

Albany, NY - Mayor Gerald D. Jennings today announced that the City of Albany has a new Emergency Alert System that will notify subscribers by email or text message when snow emergencies or roadway closures occur.

Through the New York State Office of Emergency Management and the NY-Alert website, anyone wishing to be notified when the City declares a snow emergency or when a road closure occurs can be immediately informed via email or text message. The service is free and all personal information is protected. If necessary, users can unsubscribe at anytime.

Signing up is very simple and the website is user friendly. Please follow these simple steps to activate the alert system:

1. Go to: www.nyalert.gov
2. On the left hand side of the home page click on "Sign up for NY-Alerts"
3. Click on the "Enroll" button
4. Add your contact information
5. A confirmation email will be sent to you with the next step
6. Choose your preference of email, text alerts, or both
7. Click on Geo Political Jurisdiction to enter your location
8. Enter Albany County and City of Albany
9. When you are prompted to choose what type of alert you want, please check "Transportation"
[AOA adds: you can narrow the type of updates even further, to only include snow emergencies (or whatever)]
10. Then follow the directions to finish registration

Once you are registered you will begin to receive alerts as they occur.

"The City of Albany is pleased to partner with the New York State Office of Emergency Management to offer residents and visitors access to real-time emergency information and updates, " said Mayor Jennings. "This service is yet another vehicle for providing critical information to ensure safety and well-being for all."