Chehalis Basin flood warnings will soon come via text, and in Spanish as well as English
May 15-A basinwide flood alert system will soon deliver messages right to your phone via text.
It will also be available in Spanish.
The Chehalis Basin Board approved a funding request for $25,000 from the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority last week to improve its flood warning system. The local flood authority plans to implement the improvements to its flood warning system by the end of 2026.
Flood advocates, including Flood Authority Small Projects Committee Chair Ron Averill, broke the good news to the Centralia City Council during its business meeting Tuesday evening.
That announcement included a special thank you to Councilor Adrianna Garibay, who has been a staunch advocate for making the alerts available in Spanish and over text as a way to better serve the local Spanish-speaking community.
"You will be able to get that on your smartphone now, and not just by an email message," Averill said. "And we were going to have Spanish messages to that community with this improvement that we're making in the system."
The early flood warning system operated by the Chehalis Basin Flood Authority currently sends warning messages to those registered to receive them exclusively by email and only in English.
The flood warning system uses a network of water level gauges around the basin operated both by the local authority and by the federal government under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to the flood authority, the system first began operating ahead of the 2014-2015 flood season with just over 300 people signed up. Since then, the authority has continued pushing locals to register with the warning system. The authority counted more than 5,000 local individuals signed up for the email warnings ahead of the 2025-2026 flood season.
To register to receive messages through the early flood warning system, visit https://tinyurl.com/ytadj8fa.
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