Noreen Nickolas
MNJ Correspondent
Mitchell County is encouraging residents to use the Hyper-Reach message system to stay on top of emergency alerts.
Hyper-Reach is a mass emergency notification service that Mitchell County has used since 2016 to communicate with residents during emergencies.
The company states on its website that it “offers immense value for city and county officials charged with keeping the public safe and aware. Using an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, you can program your mass notification system to send messages, alerts, warnings and more to residents and people passing through the area. We’re also a perfect tool for alerting and coordinating staff in urgent and critical events.”
Residents can sign up for Hyper-Reach through the Mitchell County Emergency Management website, or by calling the office.
“Legally each county must have a mass emergency communication system,” said Kolby Silver, Mitchell County emergency management coordinator.
The Hyper-Reach system allows county administrators to create and send emergency messages quickly and easily. Alerts can contain voice messages, text messages, and images. The system supports multiple languages and works with iOS and Android devices.
There are two parts to the Hyper-Reach system, Silver said.
“One is the weather alert system that issues any National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather alerts and the other part alerts the community to emergencies like wildfires or hazmat conditions,” he said.
Hyper-Reach is also integrated with FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS), a national system used to deliver emergency messages, including Presidential alerts, AMBER alerts, and alerts when life or property is at risk.
Compared to other mass emergency systems, the Hyper-Reach system, which costs the county about $6,000 a year, is a more comprehensive and user-friendly system and is less expensive.
The county used CodeRED in the past but chose to switch to the Hyper-Reach system because it is “the best system that meets the county’s needs and is the best use of the taxpayer’s dollar,” Silver said.
With a population of around 14,950, Mitchell County has between 4,000 and 5,000 residents who are enrolled in the Hyper-Reach system. Since Helene around 450 more residents have enrolled.
Encouraging more residents to enroll is an ongoing project for Silver. He attempts several times a year to educate residents about the system and the importance of being connected.
According to Silver enrolling in this free service is easy for anyone, including those who are not online and the elderly.
“When residents enroll they have to provide a phone number, cell number, e-mail, and an address. They can indicate whether they want to receive messages by phone call, by e-mail, by text, or by both e-mail and text,” Silver said. “The address is needed for targeted messages. In case there is a need to identify a specific address the system will alert us to that specific area.”
Mitchell residents can choose to sign up online or over the phone.
“To sign up they can go to the Mitchell County Emergency Management website and click on the Hyper-Reach box on the right,” Silver said. “They can also scan the QR code that is on the website or they can call the office at (828) 688-4771 and speak with Misty Sparks who will help them sign up.”
The website is locate at https://www.mitchellcountync.gov/departments/emergency-management/.
Unlike some counties that use their mass communication systems to alert residents about anything from festivals to mundane announcements, Mitchell County keeps their alerts to a minimum.
“We try not to overuse the system,” said Silver. “If you get an alert on Hyper-Reach from Mitchell County it is important and you want to see the message.”
Alerting the public to imminent danger is the responsibility of the county and Silver urges residents to enroll and heed the messages for their own safety.
“I would love,” Silver said, “for everyone in Mitchell County to be signed up on Hyper-Reach.”