Grayson County's emergency alert system is working again after a problem that affected flash flood warnings, county emergency management officials said this week as storms and a flood watch moved through North Texas.
Sarah Somers, the county's emergency management coordinator, told KXII that the vendor behind CodeRED had resolved the issue with the flash flood warnings. An earlier, separate glitch had sent users more alerts than intended. County commissioners also took up the topic this week and reminded residents to stay weather aware, the Herald Democrat reported.
Why officials are watching for floods
Somers said a hot, dry summer left the county's clay soils hard and cracked, which lets heavy rain run off instead of soaking in. "Water can't penetrate the soil if it's moving fast enough," she told KXII. She called flooding the county's greatest hazard, ahead of tornadoes, and said it has cost more lives.
Her guidance for drivers and pedestrians: do not walk through water 6 inches deep or more, and use 12 inches as the limit for vehicles.
Signing up
CodeRED is a free service run by Grayson County and its 16 cities, including Howe. It can deliver emergency messages by phone call, text, email or TDD/TTY, covering situations such as boil-water notices, evacuations and missing-child alerts. Severe weather warnings are an optional add-on that residents must choose when they register.
