Harris County residents with certain disabilities will now have better access to potentially life-saving information, thanks to a new accessible alert system launched by The Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Oct. 26.
Known as the Ready Harris Accessible Alert System, the new program will provide accessible alerts, warnings and preparedness information to individuals who are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or low vision, according to Francisco Sanchez, deputy coordinator for the HCOHSEM. Additionally, Sanchez said the system will allow the HCOHSEM to better reach individuals with low literacy in English and in Spanish.
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, Harris County is home to the fifth largest population of persons with different types of disabilities and the second largest population of older adults with disabilities in the United States," Sanchez said during an Oct. 26 press conference. "Harris County will now, more robust than ever, house emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation information on disasters in a way that is more accessible to more of our underserved communities."
According to Sanchez, the new system features a brail reader capability that can also send emergency alerts with sign language interpreting along with voice and closed captioning in English and in Spanish. The system works with video-capable devices such as computers, laptops, cell phones and wireless brail readers.
