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ChambersWARNS!
YOUR WARNING when you need to know!

Chambers County’s Mass Notification and Warning System
ChambersWarns is a state-of-the-art mass notification and warning system designed to warn residents about emergencies and other important community news in jurisdictions throughout Chambers County, Texas. It is a partnership between Chambers County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Chambers County Public Health Department.

Easy Sign Up
Getting this service is easy, FREE, private and secure. Just click on the ChambersWarns icon above to register your phones and email. You will create an account and password to ensure your privacy, then register. Once you have an account, you can log in to update and manage your profile and notification preferences.

Your Contact Information
Is secure and protected. It is NEVER going to be shared with ANYONE!

ChambersWarns is capable of connecting to thousands of telephones, text messages, and emails. Warning and informational messages can be sent to work phones, cell phones, home phones, and emails very quickly.

The fastest method is via text messages to cellular phones.

YOU Select the Warning Services YOU Want
YOU decide whether you want NOAA Severe Weather Alerts, road closure notifications, Utility Service outages, etc.

 
The Chambers County Risk Assessment is a detailed study of the hazards most likely to impact Chambers County.  The top thirteen threats and risks – dangerous events such as winter storms, floods and terrorist attacks – were analyzed and ranked here according to the likelihood of them occurring.
  • Flooding occurs in many forms, from naturally occurring to human-induced. Common to all flooding is the accumulation of too much water in too little time in too small a place.  Chambers County has experienced bouts of minor-to-catastrophic flooding over the past 20 years, culminating with the near 60” rainfall induced floods from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Because most of Chambers County is coastal plain and is essentially the drainage basin for a number of bayous and rivers, flooding is likely to remain as one of our top threats and risk for the foreseeable future. 
  • Tropical cyclones which reach a sustained wind speed of 39 mph are named and called tropical storms. When the sustained wind speed in a tropical storm reaches 74 mph, it is then called a hurricane. Chambers County, Texas is in the upper 1/3 of the Texas Gulf Coast and averages a tropical cyclone impact every 5-7 years (a historical average, NOT a prediction!). These are some of the most destructive storms on earth and can cause catastrophic damages over a wide swath of hundreds of miles. From Hurricane Rita in 2005 – Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Chambers County has suffered repeatedly from the wrath of tropical cyclones.
  • Tornadoes are nature’s most violent windstorms – even weak ones can cause significant damage and fatalities. A tornado is defined as a rotating column of air, in contact with the surface, pendant from a cumuliform cloud, and often visible as a funnel cloud and/or circulating debris/dust at the ground.  According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 17 tornadic events were reported in Chambers County from January 2000 through November 2018, all of which were rated EF1 and under.
  • Drought is defined as a prolonged period of abnormally dry weather, where the lack of sufficient precipitation causes a serious hydrologic imbalance with economic and/or social consequences. Chambers County is primarily impacted by drought relating to sustained periods of regional lack of rainfall. We are dependent upon surface waters (lakes, bayous and reservoirs) for the potable and irrigation water we need. Drought also greatly impacts land throughout the county that is utilized as cropland or pasture.
  • Severe summer weather is classified as thunderstorms, hail, lightning, and damaging wind. Each of these hazards has its own severity measure and often all four occur in one storm system, causing much more damage than each would have alone. According to the NOAA National Climactic Data Center’s Storm Events Database, there were over 87 hail, strong/high/thunderstorm wind, and lightning events for Chambers County from January 2000 to November 2018.
  • Extreme heat events, or heat waves, are prolonged periods of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity.  From 2000-2018, there were 4 major heatwave events that impacted Chambers County. Nation-wide, the average number of heat related deaths per year exceeds all other weather-related fatalities. The impact of extreme heat on systemic infrastructure like the power grid, roads, agriculture and the health care system can be severe.
  • These kinds of interruptions may involve electrical power, natural gas, public water and communications systems. These systems are vulnerable to natural hazards, mechanical-related failures and intentional disruptions. Chambers County has experienced numerous interruptions and failures of various kinds. Most of the longest durations interruptions result from tropical cyclones or other severe weather events. Almost all of the utility systems in Chambers County are privately owned and outside of the control or responsibility of city or county government.
  • Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by the entrance into the body of harmful microbial organisms which grow and multiply.  The diseases of most concern to the health and welfare of communities are those that are easily communicable between people. Communicable diseases are caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites and are transmitted from an infected person/animal and/or contaminated food or water source to another person or animal. Chambers County is susceptible to many common infectious diseases, such as seasonal flu, as well as diseases that are newly emerged or re-emerging, such as H5N1 Influenza (avian flu) and West Nile Virus.
  • These incidents are the release of a hazardous material from its container or package in a sufficient concentration to pose a threat. Hazardous materials may be explosive, flammable, corrosive, poisonous, or radioactive, as well as solid, liquid or gaseous form. Chambers County has several large refinery facilities, numerous large chemical sites, numerous oil wells with storage tanks, and thousands of miles of underground pipelines. A transportation incident on I-10, a huge shipping corridor which transects Chambers County, is the most likely and common haz mat release scenario.

  • CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL, NUCLEAR OR EXPLOSIVE (CBRNE) 
    is defined as a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or any segment, to intimidate or coerce a government, the population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. A terrorist act can be by a group such as a State-Sponsored team, or could be perpetrated by a Lone Wolf: defined by DHS as an individual motivated by extremist ideology to commit acts of criminal violence independent of any larger terrorist organization. In recent years, the United States has certainly seen an emerging threat from lone wolf terrorists. 

    A CBRNE event is one caused by the introduction of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive material utilized as a weapon. Chambers County has never been the victim of a direct terrorist attack, yet has a history of terrorist activity. This, along with the difficulties in predicting which U.S. cities are future targets and the potential impact of a terrorist attack on the county’s population, property and economy, makes terrorism more of a “wild card” than other hazards and therefore more difficult to prioritize.

    Chambers County IS a “target rich” environment due to its large petrochemical industry, numerous rail lines, massive underground pipeline corridors and Interstate 10.

     
  • Severe winter weather is classified as snow, ice and extremely cold conditions. Winter storms are events in which the dominant forms of precipitation occur only at cold temperatures.  Chambers County has had several significant to severe winter weather events since 2000 including heavy snow accumulation and several severe icing events which closed surface streets and Interstate 10.
  • Cyber-terrorism is the malicious attempt to damage or disrupt a computer network or system. A sharp increase in the number of cyber incidents involving government and corporate computer networks has caused the United States to launch initiatives to combat cyber threats, including in Chambers County.  Many of the initiatives have focused on protecting critical infrastructure command and control systems (SCADA), preventing access to sensitive government information, reducing unauthorized access to utility control systems, and thwarting acts of fraud and theft targeting business financial systems.  
  • A civil disturbance is a planned or random uproar or disturbance of ordinary community life by persons choosing to ignore laws, often to bring attention to a cause, concern, or agenda. Chambers County has seen few types of civil disturbances through the years, but with the unrest that spills out of adjacent metro areas, is has risen to a level where we must acknowledge the potential.

This is a new service for Chambers County. We know that you will have questions. We have answered a number of the most common ones we have been asked here.

What is ChambersWARNS?
ChambersWarns is our new, state-of-the-art mass notification and warning system designed to warn residents about emergencies and other important community news in jurisdictions throughout Chambers County, Texas.

Why should I sign up for Alert notifications?
ChambersWARNS enables County emergency officials to provide critical information directly to you as emergencies happen.  The alerts provide information on the nature of the emergency, where to go, what to do and how to stay informed through text message, email, cell phone, home phone or work phone.   Text message is the fastest way to receive notifications.

What types of notifications will I receive?
Chambers County Emergency Management and Chambers County Health Department will use ChambersWARNS to notify residents about severe weather threats, Haz Mat threats, boil water notices and other critical emergency information. We can, with your approval, also send information about interstate closures, transportation incidents, utility outages, government closings and other important community news.

What are some of the features of ChambersWARNS?
ChambersWARNS is user customizable and allows you to choose what kind of notifications you want to receive, how you want to receive them and the location you want to receive them for.

What types of important emergency and disaster alerts will I receive?
Chambers County Emergency Management and Chambers County Public Health will use ChambersWARNS to send emergency notifications when there are imminent threats to life, health and safety for residents in Chambers County.

Who sends alerts?
Chambers County Emergency Management, Chambers County 9-1-1 Dispatch and Chambers County Public Health Department are the only agencies authorized to issue alerts. Alerts may go out to everyone with an account or to select groups of individuals depending on the type of alerts to which they subscribed or geographic area impacted.

Who can register for ChambersWARNS?
Anyone can register for ChambersWARNS.  Whether you live, work, travel through, or have family/friends in Chambers County the service is available to you.  However, only addresses and contact information you provide within Chambers County will receive an alert from the system. Individuals and businesses that have their information available in the white and yellow pages are already included in the system and will receive emergency notifications through landline only.

Will I still get emergency notifications if I don't sign up?
Individuals and businesses that are in the white and yellow pages have automatically been added into the system and will receive emergency notifications through landline only. If you are currently listed in the white or yellow pages and would like to customize your notifications, you must register for ChambersWARNS.  Cellular telephones are NOT included and federal law prohibits the County from accessing your cell phone without YOUR permission:  YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS ON YOUR CELL PHONE OR EMAIL IF YOU DON’T REGISTER.

What if I previously provided my information to a Chambers County notification system?
If you previously provided your information to a Chambers County notification system, you still need to register in ChambersWARNS to ensure you receive emergency notifications and to control your locations and notification delivery methods. ChambersWarns encourages you to update your contact information yearly or anytime it changes.

Why should I provide an address?
In order to take advantage of the features of the ChambersWARNS, individuals should enter a valid address which allows us to target information specific to a geographic location.  Some emergency alerts, such as law enforcement alert or Haz Mat Warnings, are only sent to account holders with addresses listed near the event location.

What if I do not want to enter my home address?
A valid address in Chambers County is required. If you do not enter your home address, you will not get alerts or warning for your neighborhood.  In order to effectively provide you with timely warnings or alerts, we need the same residence information that is on your Texas Driver’s License.  Your personal information is NOT stored locally on any computer and will NEVER be accessed or shared by anyone.

Will my contact information be shared with others?
NO. The information that you provide for ChambersWARNS will ONLY be used for notification purposes. We will not sell or provide your information to any vendor or anyone else.

How will my information be secured?
ChambersWARNS' vendor, SwiftReach, complies with industry standards and best practices for system administration, security policies, and application development.  To make our system the most secure, SwiftReach complies with FISMA security guidelines set forth by the National Institute of Standards in Technology (NIST).  In addition, Chambers County required, by contract, that SwiftReach agree NOT to share, sell, rent, give or otherwise transfer ANY information from Chambers County to anyone else.

What if my phone number(s) or email address(es) change?
ChambersWARNS is only as good as the information you provide. Once you have registered to receive notifications, it is important that you keep your profile current.  If your contact information changes, please remember to update your information in your profile.

What types of devices are compatible with ChambersWARNS?
Text messaging (SMS network), email accounts, cellphones, digital pagers and landlines are compatible with ChambersWARNS.  In addition, devices that are Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and federal Emergency Alert System (EAS) compatible like televisions, Weather Alert Radios and other devices will also receive ChambersWARNS messages. Standard text message charges may apply from your mobile carrier, depending on your text message plan.  If you are unsure about text messaging on your cell phone, please contact your provider.

What number will show up when you send me a text message? What is the phone number and email address that notifications will come from?
When you receive text messages from ChambersWARNS, they will be sent from. We encourage you to add this text number into your mobile phone contacts to easily identify text messages that are alerts. When you receive a TEXT from ChambersWarns, the number will display 995-38. (if you add that as a contact under ChambersWARNS in your phone’s contact list, that’s what will show up thereafter). The Phone Number will show up as:  409) 794-4532  Beaumont, Texas . (if you add that as a contact under ChambersWARNS in your phone’s contact list, that’s what will show up thereafter).  In addition, email notifications will come from Chambers County OEM (OEM@chamberstx.gov). We encourage you to add this to your address book or safe list to ensure it does not get marked as SPAM by your email provider. All web browsers are supported.

Who do I contact if I have problems, questions, or comments?
We encourage you to please read the FAQ and Help & Answers in their entirety first.  If you still need assistance please contact us at OEM@chamberstx.gov.

How will I receive weather alerts?
Severe weather alerts are automatically issued from the National Weather Service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for the weather events you choose.

 
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