MBC ALERT: Saving lives with a text

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – It’s a simple phone alert that could save your life and it’s called MBC Alert Macon-Bibb’s Emergency Management Agency is encouraging everyone who lives, works or has family in Macon to sign up for it.

Macon resident, Jake Hall received an MBC Alert over the weekend.

“On Sunday evening, we were hosting an event downtown, where my phone let me know immediately that we were in some degree of danger,” said Hall.

The alert come from Macon-Bibb County’s EMA.

“MBC is like having a siren in your pocket all the time,” Hall added.

“MBC Alert is our new free, mass warning and notification system that will send e-mails, text messages, phone calls directly to your devices and warn you about life threatening dangerous situations,” explained EMA director, Spencer Hawkins.

After Georgia’s recent storms that damaged several homes and lives, Hawkins says signing up for the alert system is extremely important.

“Life threatening situations happen all the time, so for the ability for us to warn you wherever you are, whenever it is, is a game changer for us,” Hawkins said.

Signing in takes about five minutes. All you need to do is go on maconbibb.us/mbcalert and make an account. You can register five physical addresses, four numbers, and two e-mails.

“I registered my house, my son’s school,” said Jake Hall. “I registered the church so that if anything happens in those areas, I get a notification and I feel a lot safer in doing so.”

Hall says he’s just amazed that a simple alert to his phone can do so much.

“For it to be used to keep us safe, that’s so much better than your average Snapchat conversation,” Hall added.

The alert also works both ways, so if you need any help, the EMA can get to you as soon as possible, all with a text.