The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) has introduced a new translation service aimed at enhancing the accessibility of emergency alerts for residents. This initiative is part of the County’s Alert Montgomery system, which is the largest emergency alert system in Maryland, currently serving over 266,000 subscribers.
This new web-based translation service allows users to click a link in emergency notifications received via text or email, directing them to a County page that translates alert content into 11 different languages. These languages were selected based on the needs of residents who speak languages other than English at home.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich emphasized the importance of this service, stating, “Montgomery County is home to people who speak many different languages, and during an emergency everyone needs to be able to quickly understand what is happening and what they should do to stay safe. Language should never prevent someone from receiving potentially lifesaving information.” He expressed gratitude to the OEMHS and community partners for their efforts in making this service available.
Instructions for using the translation tool can be found on the Alert Translations webpage. The tool is designed to improve its translation quality over time with help from County translators, who will refine its capabilities in the target languages.
OEMHS Director Luke Hodgson noted that the translation service will significantly benefit residents with limited English proficiency, allowing them to receive timely emergency notifications about severe weather and other critical situations. He stated, “Alerts like thunderstorm and winter storm watches will help ensure our entire community can better prepare themselves and their property for severe weather events, while urgent, life-threatening warnings about threats like flash floods or tornadoes can save lives.”
To promote this new service, OEMHS plans to launch a campaign in September, coinciding with National Preparedness Month. This will include social media outreach, community events, and presentations in areas with high populations of limited English proficiency. Ongoing outreach will be conducted in collaboration with various County agencies and local organizations that serve these communities.
Residents interested in subscribing to Alert Montgomery can choose from various alert types, including weather updates, government and school notifications, and infrastructure issues like outages. They can also specify the neighborhoods they want alerts for and select their preferred notification methods, such as text, email, or voice calls. Currently, the translation service applies only to alerts generated by OEMHS, such as emergency weather notifications, and does not include traffic alerts.
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Read the original article at mcgov
