EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Tornadoes, floods, blizzards and other natural disasters can affect the City. In addition, major disasters such as train wrecks, plane crashes, explosions and accidental releases of hazardous materials pose a potential threat to safety in Edina. In addition, the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and the anthrax outbreaks that followed have called increased attention to the critical role of local agencies in homeland security.

The City has an emergency plan to ensure the protection of the public from the effects of these hazards. The purpose of the plan is to ensure the effective, coordinated use of its resources to maximize the protection of life and property, ensure the continuity of government, sustain survivors and repair essential facilities and utilities.

Prompted by increased threats and aided by increased funding from Congress, the Edina Health Department has been making additional plans, learning and teaching new skills and working with other communities to improve local public health preparedness.

CodeRED

The City of Edina has implemented a “reverse 9-1-1” notification system for use during emergencies. The City of Edina has contracted with Emergency Communications Network, Inc., of Ormond Beach, Fla., for its "CodeRED" high-speed telephone emergency notification services. The CodeRED system gives City officials the ability to deliver urgent pre-recorded emergency telephone messages to targeted areas or the entire community at a rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour. Messages could be sent for such disasters as storms, hazardous material spills, illness outbreaks or pandemics, terrorist attacks or other emergencies. When a message is sent, caller IDs will display “999-811-9999.” All messages will begin with “This is a CodeRED message from the City of Edina.” If a phone is not answered, the system will try again, up to three times.

The backbone of the system is the City’s telephone database of properties in the community. To ensure no one is omitted, all individuals and businesses are urged to visit the "CodeRED Residential and Business Data Collection" page and submit their phone numbers to be called in an emergency.

Deputy Police Chief Ken Carlson coordinates the City's Emergency Operations Plan. For more information, call him at 952-826-0479.

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Storm Preparedness	Download information on preparing for storms.