NORWICH – Intense storms that recently moved through the area have only incentivized the Chenango County Office of Emergency Management to upgrade its emergency notification system, ensuring that all county residents are promptly notified of severe threats.

This week, the county signed a five-year $40,000 contract for Hyper-Reach, a computer software program that county Emergency Management Director Matthew Beckwith says will improve emergency response in the area.

Paid for by a federal grant awarded through the Homeland Security Grant Program, Hyper Reach will replace the county’s current use of the notification system NY-Alert. The new program will help emergency officials more easily reach a broader audience, Beckwith said. And unlike NY-Alert, it will link directly to the National Weather Service, allowing for quicker severe weather notifications to local residents.

“That’s one of its biggest features,” Beckwith said. When it comes to things like tornado warnings, he said the sooner the better. “Having it tie into the National Weather Service will take dispatch out of the mix. In less than a minute after the National Weather Service issues a warning, peoples’ cell phones will start ringing to let them know there is severe weather in the area.”