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Residents within the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) in Benton and Franklin counties would be notified by warning sirens located within the EPZ, emergency alert messages over select radio stations (following siren activation), direct telephone notification or Tone Alert Radios provided for limited use in schools and selected residences with special notification needs. Benton and Franklin counties use the CodeRED Telephone Notification System. When activated by county Emergency Management officials in response to an emergency, the CodeRED system notifies residents via phone, text or email. Residents are encouraged to sign up using the links available on their county’s Emergency Management webpage to receive the notifications.
Sign up for CodeRED at:
People using recreation areas within the EPZ at the Richland Off-Road Vehicle Park, Horn Rapids recreation areas along the Yakima River (including the Horn Rapids County Park), Rattlesnake Mountain Shooting Facility, Wahluke Hunting Area or Ringold Fishing Area will be notified by sirens sounding continuously for three minutes, followed by an audible message.
They will be told to evacuate the immediate area and tune to: The Emergency Alert System (EAS) radio station KONA 610 AM / 105.3 FM, KORD 102.7 FM, or KZHR 92.5 FM (Spanish language) for more information.
If there is an emergency on the Hanford Site that threatens public safety, people using the Columbia River will hear sirens sound continuously for three minutes, followed by an audible message. These sirens are a signal to evacuate the river. Tune to the EAS KONA 610 AM / 105.3 FM, KORD 102.7 FM, or KZHR 92.5 FM (Spanish language) for more information. Other radio and television stations may also broadcast emergency information.
In the unlikely event of an emergency on the Hanford Site, personnel and boats provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and the county sheriff’s departments will prevent boaters from entering the affected areas of the river. If there has been no radiological release, boaters will be advised to return to their launch points. If there has been a radiological release, boaters will be instructed to proceed to a monitoring station for further instructions. Additional notification will be made by the Coast Guard via an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast on Marine Band Channel 16.
The siren warning system has been expanded to serve all Benton and Franklin county residents who live in the Columbia Generating Station EPZ (within about 10 miles of Columbia Generating Station).
These sirens will inform residents to Monitor & Prepare, Shelter In Place or Evacuate based upon their location within the EPZ. Following siren system activation, residents would be encouraged to tune a radio to one of the EAS broadcast stations, KONA 610 AM / 105.3 FM, KORD 102.7 FM, or KZHR 92.5 FM (Spanish language). Additionally, schools and a few residents with special notification needs are supplied Tone Alert Radios. These radios will turn on automatically by a signal transmitted just before an emergency message broadcast.
