By T.S. EVANS

Staff Writer

SOMERS POINT – Residents here may feel that they can rest a little easier now when it comes to hurricanes and natural disasters. Atlantic County has signed a contract with Global Connect to install what is called “reverse 911” as part of the countywide emergency management system.

Just as residents are able to contact emergency personnel when they need help by calling 911, now emergency personnel can contact residents to let them know when there is an impending disaster and to get out of harm’s way. It is 911 in reverse.

Rob Cozen, Somers Point emergency management director, said he has been trying to get the rapid alert system for the past two years. The town’s sirens have been non-operational for years.

With the new system he can send a message to residents’ home phones, send a text message to their cell phones, a messages to beepers, PDAs, work phones and email addresses alerting everyone in the entire town within minutes, he said.

All 12,000 people would be put on alert. With the new system, in a matter of minutes, people would know that a hurricane was on the way and when to expect it to hit. Shopping centers, schools, banks and the hospital would have more time to start an evacuation, he said. In the winter it would also give residence additional time to stock up on batteries, water, canned goods and nonperishables so they could remain self-sufficient for at least two days in the event there was a power loss.

“Most people are disoriented in the dark,” Cozen said. People should have a game plan on what to do in the event of an emergency and then prepare accordingly. Have extra staples on hand, medication, glasses and whatever is needed to survive.”

He recommended that families plan ahead on where to meet.

“Special-needs residents should notify us so that we can send help immediately. Anyone who is blind, deaf or requires a wheelchair should be on our list so that we can assist them in getting to safety,” he said.

He advised those who have special needs to contact the Office of Emergency Management.

“We need to be able to care for these people,” Cozen said.

“This new system will also help municipal employees who are part of the emergency response team,” he noted.

“This system is a multi-task system. I can even specify which numbers I want to contact.”

He said he plans to begin training Somers Point emergency personnel on the system in January.

“We’ll be testing the program in February, and I hope all the citizens will cooperate during the testing by responding,” Cozen said. “One thing I can guarantee is this system will be used cautiously.”