The City maintains an Emergency Operations Plan that uses an all-hazard approach to emergency planning. The plan lays out specific staff responsibilities, resources and operating procedures for responding to certain types of emergencies – from response to natural disasters to hazardous materials spills. The Police Chief also acts as the City’s Director of Emergency Management.
CodeRED
Shakopee and Scott County use the CodeRED emergency alert notification system to notify residents and businesses of potentially dangerous situations. The high-speed telephone notification system allows public safety agencies to deliver a pre-recorded message to a targeted area of the county or city. When signing up, residents and businesses can select how they would like to receive those messages – by landline phone, cell phone, text message or email. Register for three types of CodeRED messages:- Emergency Notifications (e.g., Amber Alerts, evacuations, active shooters, wildfire, etc.) - Note: Most Scott County landlines have already been programmed into the system. You can register your cell phone.
- General Notifications (e.g., road closures, utility outages, water main breaks, etc.)
- Weather Notifications (e.g., tornado, flash flood, severe thunderstorm)
Severe Weather Safety
The City has 20 outdoor warning sirens to alert residents in the event of an emergency. Warning sirens are tested at 1 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month.The National Weather Service provides warnings and forecasts for Scott County and Shakopee.
In Scott County, sirens are typically activated in cities for which a tornado warning has been issued. Sirens in other cities may be activated if officials determine the public's safety may be affected by the same storm, if the police or fire chief requests that the sirens be sounded, or if severe weather has been observed. Residents are advised to take cover and turn on a radio or television to obtain more information.
In addition to warning residents of severe weather, the sirens may also be used to alert the community of a hazardous materials leak or another dangerous event in the community. In this case, residents should turn into their television or radio to determine the nature of the siren.
Cleaning up after a storm
Per the City code, the City is responsible for disposing of damage from boulevard trees and those located on public right-of-ways. The City does not collect downed branches from private trees. They are the responsibility of the property owner.In rare occurrences, the City has suspended its code to collect private storm damage following major wind events. However, this has only happened a couple of times in the past 20 years.
For more information about severe weather in Scott County, visit Scott County Emergency Management.