Soon enough, Lansing residents and others will be able to turn their cell phones into 21st century tornado sirens.

The city is launching a community information text-messaging service designed to deliver timely information about emergencies and other events.

With the launch, Lansing will join a growing list of public entities utilizing services that allow residents to receive emergency information via text messages, e-mails and online, said Trent Atkins, Lansing’s emergency management chief.

The text-messaging service, projected to go live Dec. 14, will be provided free to the city through Nixle LLC, a privately funded startup that offers secure texting services to public entities and other organizations nationwide. Individuals who sign up for the alerts will receive texts as part of their individual text-messaging plan.

More at: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/911160336