COURTHOUSE — Want to be immediately alerted if there is an emergency or crisis in an area where you work, live or play?

Now, if you have access to an electronic communications device, you can have first-hand knowledge of those situations, and much more.

Officials from the five-county Southeast Pennsylvania region Friday unveiled an emergency messaging system now available for their citizens.

The officials announced the launching of ReadyNotifyPA, an emergency communications system that allows local officials to send e-mail or text messages to cell phones, BlackBerries, pagers or other e-mail enabled devices including your computer during an emergency.

“This is a vital public warning system and we are encouraging folks to sign up,” said Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews. “Providing the public with critical information during emergencies could save lives.”

To sign up for the program, citizens should go to www.ReadyNotifyPA.org or enter a text message on a cell phone, texting the county’s code (MONTCO) to 411911.

Citizens can register for emergency alerts for the county where they work or live, or both. They can also add as many devices and e-mail addresses as they wish to their accounts.

Registering for the alerts is free. However, cellular or wireless service providers may charge individuals for text messages sent to their wireless devices. That charge normally is 10 cents a message, according to officials.

The emergencies to which residents would be alerted through the system range from floods to incidents of bio-terrorism, according to county Communications Director John A. Corcoran.

Citizens also can add to the type of alerts in which they are interested in receiving, according to Corcoran.

For example, an individual registered for the system may also arrange to be notified of major traffic problems or receive weather warnings, said Corcoran.

The overall cost of obtaining and implementing the ReadyNotifyPA system for a five-year period is $887,000.

The funds for the program come from federal homeland security monies secured by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force that is governed by a board of emergency management coordinators from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.

Initially created to develop a regional response to terrorism threats, the task force has since broadened its scope to include both man-made and natural disasters.

Margaret Gibbons can be reached at mgibbons@timesherald.com or 610-272-2501 ext. 216.