Get Emergency Alerts for York County
Sign up to receive notifications about severe weather, road closures, evacuations, and other public safety situations sent directly to your phone or email.
SIGN UP
Two Ways to Get Alerts
Both options feed into the same alert system for your municipality. York County EMA uses Rave Mobile Safety to send alerts across all 29 municipalities. Choose the option that works best for you, or do both.
RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE
Create a Smart911 Profile
Works for all 29 York County municipalities. Receive alerts by text, email, or phone call including to a landline. Smart911 is the registration portal for Rave Mobile Safety, York County EMA's alert platform.
When registering, make sure to enter your correct address so the system connects you to your municipality's alerts.
Register at:
FASTEST OPTION (in select municipalities)
Text Your Municipality's Keyword
Text your municipality's keyword to 226787 for instant opt-in. No account needed. Receives text message alerts only.
Available in participating municipalities now, expanding through 2026. Reply LEAVE to any alert message to opt out.
Both sign-up methods feed into the same alert list for your municipality. You do not need to do both. Creating a Smart911 profile is the most complete option, and you can always add a keyword sign-up later.
MUNICIPAL KEYWORDS
Find Your Municipality's Keyword
Each participating municipality has its own keyword. Text it to 226787 for instant sign-up. More municipalities are joining through 2026.
MUNICIPALITY
Kennebunk
Old Orchard Beach
Ogunquit
Sanford
Wells
York
TEXT THIS KEYWORD TO 226787
Want countywide alerts by text?
Text YorkCountyAlerts to 226787 to receive alerts that apply across all of York County, including severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.
Note: This is not the same as signing up for your municipality's alerts. Countywide alerts cover the full county and may include alerts affecting areas outside of your municipality. We recommend signing up for your municipality's keyword or creating a Smart911 profile to make sure you receive alerts specific to your community.
WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE
Types of Alerts
Your municipality uses this system for a wide range of public safety situations, including:
Alerts are sent by your municipality or by York County EMA.
HOW COVERAGE WORKS
Other Ways Alerts May Reach You
Beyond opt-in sign-up, two additional systems can reach you without registration. Both cover a narrower set of situations than opt-in alerts.
Reverse 911
For major emergencies, municipalities can send alerts to all landlines in a geographic area even if you have not signed up. Coverage depends on whether your number is in current databases, which may not reflect recent moves or number changes. Signing up through Smart911 ensures you are reached reliably.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
Wireless Emergency Alerts are pushed to every compatible cell phone in a geographic area without any sign-up. You may have seen these for severe weather warnings, flash floods, and Amber Alerts. Those are sent by the National Weather Service and law enforcement through FEMA's national system.
York County EMA is also authorized to send WEAs, but only for civil emergencies, immediate evacuations, and shelter-in-place orders. This is a high bar used only when warranted.
Find answers to frequently asked questions about IPAWS on the FEMA website here.
Opt-in sign-up is the only way to guarantee you receive the full range of alerts, including routine notifications like parking bans, road closures, and preparedness messaging that do not meet the Reverse 911 or WEA threshold.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I unsubscribe from alerts?
For people who joined by text: To leave a specific municipality's alerts, reply LEAVE to any alert message. To stop all alerts from this system, text STOP to 226787.
For people who have created a Smart911 profile: To update your information & preferences or to delete your account, sign in to your Smart911 account (which you created to receive Rave alerts).
Will I receive alerts from municipalities I did not sign up for?
No. You will only receive alerts from the municipalities whose keyword you texted or whose address you registered in your Smart911 profile. The exception is York County EMA countywide alerts, which go to all opt-ins.
Does signing up connect me to 911?
No. This is an alerting platform only. It does not connect to emergency services. Always call 911 in an emergency.
What if my municipality does not have a keyword/text-to-opt-in code?
More municipalities are joining through 2026.
In the meantime, you can create a Smart911 profile at smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=YorkCountyMaineEMA to sign up for alerts from your municipality, or text YorkCountyAlerts to 226787 for countywide alerts.
GET IN TOUCH
Contact York County EMA
We are happy to help with sign-up questions, alert feedback, or general information about the system.
Business Hours (Mon-Fri, 8am-4:30pm)
207-324-1578
FEEDBACK
Help Us Improve
We welcome your feedback
We want our alerts to be clear, timely, and useful.
If you have questions about a specific alert you received or feedback about how we communicate, email ema@yorkcountymaine.gov with the date and subject of the alert.