Timely information is a key component of choosing the right course of action. Whether you’re facing an upcoming weather event or a street closure in your neighborhood, having access to the latest information can help you decide how to respond.
One of the ways that the City of Victoria provides residents with breaking updates is through our Alert Center. This opt-in service allows residents to sign up for email or text alerts from the City of Victoria.
The City provides a variety of alert types, and residents can choose which ones they want to receive:
- Road Closures: notices about closures, delays and construction to help residents plan their routes
- Water Alerts: notices about drought restrictions, boil-water advisories and other issues affecting our water supply
- Weather Alerts: updates about local weather impacts affecting our area
- News Releases: breaking news about City programs and services, sent to residents before it appears anywhere else
The City’s Alert Center proved to be a useful communication tool when our community was threatened by Hurricane Beryl earlier this month. In the days leading up to the storm’s arrival on the Texas coast, residents who had signed up for weather alerts received updates about the weather forecast, local disaster declarations, City closures and safe room locations.
If the storm had struck Victoria as originally predicted, residents who had signed up for road closure alerts would have received timely updates about roadways blocked by debris and flooding. And, if there had been any impacts to our water system, residents who had signed up for water alerts would have been kept up to date about water availability and boil-water advisories.
It’s important to note that the City’s Alert Center is different from the system that sent out a hurricane warning to residents’ phones that weekend. That alert came from the National Weather Service, and it is an example of a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA)—a type of alert that goes out to all smartphone users as long as they have emergency and public safety alerts toggled on within their notification settings.
In general, only state and federal agencies are allowed to send WEAs, and they can only be used in cases of imminent danger (for example, Amber Alerts are another type of WEA). Our Alert Center weather alerts do not replace or duplicate these critical notifications, but they do contain information that is tailored to our community and can help residents understand how severe weather may affect them.
Whether you’re planning for a storm or planning your daily commute, the City’s Alert Center can give you the information you need to help your decision-making. To sign up for Alert Center alerts, and to view all alerts that are currently in effect, visit www.victoriatx.gov/alertcenter.
To learn more about the different ways that Communications & Public Affairs keeps residents informed, visit www.victoriatx.gov/newsroom.
Ashley Strevel is the director of Communications & Public Affairs for the City of Victoria.