Storm approaching? How to quickly create your own Community Alert system with data from National Weather Service.

Hurricane Erin tracker: Category 4 storm to bring dangerous surf and rip currents to the East Coast.

“Officials in North Carolina have ordered the evacuation of Hatteras Island ahead of expected swells. Hurricane Erin is currently a Category 4 storm and is expected to strengthen and remain a “dangerous major hurricane through the middle of this week,” forecasters say. The storm is forecast to create “life-threatening” surf and rip currents along the Atlantic Coast.” — Yahoo News

• The National Weather Service real time map with details on storms.
• How can people track storm warnings when you don’t have time to keep an eye on their map?
• The National Weather Service provides an RSS feed ( a data feed on the latest storm data).
• We used FastAlert.Now to create alerts for storm warnings for Puerto Rico and North Carolina.

Subscribe to any of these channels will send you an alert to your phone or laptop when the National Weather Service updates that area. This does not require an app, no phone number and no text messages.

• Wake County — Raleigh
• New Hanover County — Willmington
• Northern Outer Banks — Corolla
• Puerto Rico

How to create a community alert channel

Rapid response with timely alerts

• Texas flash floods hit residents and campers in a deluge “nobody saw” coming. — CBS News
• Heavy Rains in Washington Area Flood Roads and Prompt Water Rescues — NY Times
• NOAA firings spark fears about long-term damage — The Hill
• Full List of Republicans Who Voted Against FEMA Funding Before Helene Hit — Newsweek
• Trump administration slashes NOAA staff, fulfilling Project 2025 goal — MSNBC

How FastAlert.Now works

**FastAlert.Now is an online service from DemLabs that can be used freely for community alerts. It can be set up in minutes and works without requiring a phone number, texting, having to download an app nor any registration.**

• People can sign up with one click, or just by scanning a QR Code.
• This is helpful when people do not want to communicate securely.
• Any form of communication that involves a phone number or mobile app is risky as your phone number gives away your location, movements and who you are in touch with.
• Organizers can target their message by creating different channels for people to tune into. e.g. DC, Atlanta, Veterans in Atlanta etc.
• Alerts are sent to phones and laptops (iOS, Mac, Windows, Android) and appear with a ‘Bing’ (sound)
• Alerts can include a phone number or website address. This makes it easier for recipients to respond.
• FastAlert makes it easy for people at a rally (say) to get alerts with one QR Code scan or one link, and then be prompted afterwards to take more actions
• There is no additional costs to send messages (as with texting)
• Setting up a channel takes about 10 minutes and that creates a URL for subscribers. Alerts can be sent out immediately after creating a channel.

How to subscribe for alerts and how alerts appear

TakeAway: Create your own Community Alert System with FastAlert.Now

Deepak DemLabs

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