Safe from the Storm: Alabama launches new Flood Notification System
A deadly flood in Texas that killed an Alabama girl has prompted state officials to launch a new flood notification system.
Sarah Marsh was eight years old and was from Mountain Brook when she was killed when floodwaters swept through Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, located next to the Guadalupe River, northwest of San Antonio, Texas, last summer.
Heavy rain caused the river to rise almost 26 feet in less than one hour. A total of 25 children, two adult counselors and the camp’s owner were killed at Camp Mystic, while the floods killed more than 130 people throughout the area.
That tragedy prompted Gov. Kay Ivey and other state leaders to create a statewide flood notification system for Alabama.
Ivey spoke about the system in her State of the State Address in January:
“Unfortunately, Alabama is no stranger to the wrath of Mother Nature. We are also home to many of our own camps. And y’all, as a former counselor myself, ensuring safety in these spaces is very personal to me,” Ivey said in her speech.
“For that reason, I am launching a statewide flood notification system that will be in place for this summer. I am also calling on the Legislature to fund this notification system moving forward.”
Lisa Castaldo of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency says the governor’s initiative will enhance an existing statewide emergency notification system, and it also will include more than just flood warnings.
In addition to weather bulletins, the new statewide notification system will inform the public of law enforcement alerts and other civil emergencies. Most of the information will be received automatically by cell phones.
Gov. Ivey is working with the Alabama EMA and law enforcement agencies to establish this system in all 67 counties.
Watch the video above to learn more about it.
