NORFOLK -- The City wants the public to know about a program designed to alert you if severe weather, such as a tornado or hurricane, is coming your way.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen firsthand how quickly severe weather can hit our area and leave massive devastation in its wake. Through a few clicks online, the City of Norfolk wants to give you a heads-up as part of its new program called “Norfolk Alert.”

“A lot of our storms we have plenty of notice, but there are some times when flooding or a wind event will come up and there is not a lot of notice,” said Bob Batcher, PR Manager for the City of Norfolk. “This is a new technology that allows us to send a message out to people that have signed up to let them know there is a weather alert.”

The service is free and easy. It allows you to choose how you are notified; by email, cell phone text message, voice message, or all of the above.

“Since it is web-based, if you’ve got a relative or a friend that wants to keep up with what’s going on in Norfolk weather-wise, they can even go online and sign up,” added Batcher. “You don’t have to be a Norfolk resident.”
Tanya Banks just learned about the free service from her mother.

“I was surprised that it was out there, but I thought, considering what’s just happened in Suffolk, it’s probably time.”

So far, about 1,000 people have signed up for Norfolk Alert. The City hopes to now reach out to even more people to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.