Buncombe County Government has reported an outage affecting its CodeRED/BC Alerts emergency notification system. This system is used to send emergency and non-emergency messages to subscribers through text, email, and recorded phone calls. The outage is part of a nationwide disruption in the CodeRED system, with no estimated time for restoration from the vendor.
The county clarified that 911 services and emergency response operations remain unaffected by this outage.
CodeRED is also utilized in Buncombe County to send Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) messages or “reverse 911” calls during emergency evacuations. While the outage continues, requests for IPAWS messages will be directed to North Carolina Emergency Management or FEMA for handling.
To maintain communication with residents, Buncombe County Government stated it is using multiple channels. “Buncombe County Government is utilizing a layered communication strategy to ensure residents continue receiving timely and accurate information. Updates will be shared across multiple channels, including the Buncombe County website (www.buncombenc.gov), the County’s official Facebook page and its emergency alert features, the Nextdoor app and its emergency features, X, and Instagram. The County will also contact all local news outlets to distribute urgent information along with trusted community partners.”
The county is also seeking alternative vendors who provide similar services in order to restore its emergency messaging capabilities.
In related education data for Buncombe County school districts during the 2022-23 school year, about 28.5% of senior students taking the science portion of the ACT were considered ready for college according to figures from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. For juniors taking the same test, approximately 30.1% met college readiness benchmarks (source). In reading, 41.1% of seniors were deemed college-ready (source), while juniors had a slightly higher rate at 43.2% (source). For math readiness on the ACT, 25.6% of seniors achieved college-ready scores (source), compared with 32.7% among juniors (source).
