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People who live and work in Luzerne County can sign up to receive alerts about emergency or weather-related events in the county, officials said.

The county’s Emergency Management Agency launched a new emergency notification system, called Swift911, on Feb. 1.

Funded through a federal Homeland Security grant, the system allows county emergency management to tailor messages to specific areas.

Officials in the county’s 76 municipalities also have been invited to join the program for free to provide targeted emergency alerts to their residents.

Participating citizens determine the types of alerts they want and how they want to receive them — telephone, text, email or social media.

For example, the county will provide notifications about the nuclear power plant in Salem Township and Susquehanna River flooding that may not be of interest to all.

County emergency management representatives will hold an informational session on the new system and help residents sign up from 6- to 8 p.m. Feb. 17 at the county EMA building, 185 Water St., Wilkes-Barre.

County residents also can sign up through the Swift911 link on the county website, www.luzernecounty.org, or by downloading the Swift911 public app.

The $50,000 grant will pay for one year of service and support for the county and participating municipalities. The county council must decide whether to continue funding the system if the grant is not provided in future years, officials said.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes

[email protected]

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.