Whitman County and the City of Pullman will now use an alert system that enables officials to provide early warnings and safety information to thousands of residents in seconds, during events like fires, extreme weather conditions and evacuations.

The Everbridge mass notification system sends emergency messages in the form of text messages, phone calls, emails and more. The system requires up-to-date contact information in order to work, and so it will send messages to on-record phone numbers until residents confirm they have received them.

Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins has asked that residents update their contact information as soon as possible by visiting the police department’s website. Registration takes a few minutes and can be found at the “Emergency Notification System” link.

The information provided will be used only for emergency situations.