After an electrical outage caused by a short in an elevator at Vicksburg Water Treatment Plant caused city officials to issue a massive boil water notice, more than 18,000 phones rang, dinged or vibrated.

A CodeRed alert was sent to all participants in the emergency alert program regardless of where they live in the county, Warren County Emergency Manager John Elfer said.

“So many county residents work and go to school in the city. We felt like it was best for everyone to get that information,” Elfer said.

On the city and county web sites, residents may register a cell or landline phone number to receive free calls or text messages about tornado warnings, evacuation orders and other emergencies.

About 4,000 people are signed up to receive CodeRed weather alerts, and another 14,000 are signed up for general alerts, he said.

In 2012, Warren County joined the program under a three-year contract that cost the county $15,625 the first year and $18,750 the final two years.

“I think it has been demonstrated that it is an efficient way to notify a lot of people,” Elfer said. The program was a tough sell to supervisors because of the price tag on the three-year deal.

Debate in the past three years among supervisors has centered on cost versus participation.

The CodeRed program came to the fore after information that the 16 county-owned sirens erected in the 1980s to warn of nuclear accidents haven’t worked in years. Residents without Internet access may register for CodeRed by calling Elfer’s office at 601-636-1544.