City officials getting satellite technology to help in emergencies

If phone systems in Hampton Roads and cities in central Virginia fail during emergencies, officials will have new satellite technology to help them talk with state officials.

The satellite-based digital system will allow city officials to get information to the state’s emergency operations center and send alerts about natural disasters to the media if the phone lines fail, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

The secure network, called EMnet, also will help officials keep up the lines of communication if Internet service is interrupted, the release says. Officials intend to use it to communicate when hurricanes and other severe weather threatens those areas, the release says.

The network will be installed at 22 sites and the work should be complete by the end of the summer, the release says.

The release lists cities receiving the new technology as: Chesapeake, Hampton, Hopewell, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.

Counties receiving EMnet include: Accomack, Chesterfield, Gloucester, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland and York.

Funding for the technology was approved by the General Assembly in 2007, the release says. The funds cover the equipment, installation and a three-year license.