The City of Dallas has announced the implementation and deployment of their new reverse emergency phone notification system – the GeoCast®Web™. The GeoCast®Web™ will be replacing the previous system called REVERSE 911®.

The GeoCast®Web™ is an emergency system tool that will provide rapid phone notifications to resident in situations where the safety of the public may be in danger. GeoCast®Web™ will only be used in real emergencies, such as chemical spills, fire or flooding evacuation scenarios, and drinking water contamination.

“Ensuring timely and adequate warning to the public during times of potential or imminent danger is one of the more important jobs we have as emergency managers,” said Kenny Shaw, Director of Dallas OEM. “We are always looking for ways to improve risk communications to Dallas residents and businesses.”

Individuals may register for these notifications via the City of Dallas OEM’s website or directly through the system’s self-registration web portal. Any residents that were already registered with the previous system, REVERSE 911®, are already a part of the new system. 

However, city officials urge residents to not depend entirely on GeoCast®Web™ to keep them safe. Everyone should also watch the news and pay attention to any breaking news on the radio.

“Even though we have the new GeoCast®Web™ emergency phone notification system, we still want to remind everyone that no single tool will provide enough warning to all people in all situations,” said Shaw. “While this new system may give us emergency officials greater capabilities, it is only one component of the overall public safety communications strategy. During emergencies, people should always seek out information from as many reliable sources as possible.”