The city of Tuscaloosa plans to begin using a system that will warn residents of threats ranging from tornadoes to chemical spills.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved a $124,000 grant for the city to implement an early warning system that sends alerts by telephones, pagers and text messages.
City officials say a computer linked to a phone system will send alerts to any resident who signs up for the service.
The system is similar to one that the University of Alabama uses to send alerts to students and staff members during an emergency.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.