Douglas County Emergency Management has received Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval and credentials to access the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). 

The IPAWS system is said to be a major improvement in public alerting and warning capabilities. The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) program does not require any sign-up or registration, it’s already active on smartphones.  This enables local emergency officials to send warning messages to those either directly or potential directly impacted by an incident, such as wildland fire, flood or missing children through Amber Alerts.

These warning messages are only used for major events and not routine messaging.

In addition to the IPAWS, Douglas County also provides alerts through a reverse 911 system. People need to register their cell phones online to receive these alerts.