RADFORD, Va., June 10, 2011 – Appalachian Power and representatives of emergency agencies along the New River are urging residents living downstream of the Claytor Dam to register for a new emergency notification system.
Appalachian Power’s Claytor Hydroelectric Project sits only a few miles upstream from Radford on New River. The facility has safely provided electricity to the region for 70 years. However, an emergency action plan is in place to warn downstream residents in the unlikely event of a catastrophic failure or act of terrorism. The utility and local and state officials regularly update the plan to improve the notification process for an emergency.
The City of Radford, Pulaski County and Montgomery County have recently launched a new citizens alerting system to quickly inform residents of major threats, incidents and disasters, Officials believe the system could help save lives and property in the event of a catastrophic incident at the dam or in other situations.
The notification system works by automatically placing phone calls to residents included in the database. To receive these calls, resident must register and add home phone, cell phone or business numbers to the list.
In the event of an emergency, registered participants will receive a recorded message from their city or county. If an emergency is ongoing or new developments occur, citizens may receive critical updates through follow-up phone calls.
A number of homes and business have been designated by computer modeling to be within a flood inundation zone if a catastrophic event were to occur at Claytor. In the City of Radford, an Appalachian representative and Radford Police officer will distribute sign-up information to residents living in the target area.
Other residents seeking additional information on the citizens alerting system for specific areas can contact:
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John Shepelwich
Corporate Communications Manager
jeshepelwich@AEP.com