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Emergency management, police and fire officials and Mayor Healy this morning are unveiling a newly acquired emergency alert system at Office of Emergency Management headquarters.

The new program, known as the Mass Communication or Early Warning system, is designed to notify residents and first responders via email, text message and other means in the case of a major event. The system, which will start working on Monday, September 2, was supplied by C3 Holdings LLC for $350,000, and was paid for with grant funding from the federal Department of Homeland Security.

“Whether you have a smartphone, email, or home phone, we now have a way to reach you in case of an emergency,” Mayor Healy says in a statement. “But for this system to be truly effective, we need all of our residents and members of the business community to enroll in this important early alert system.”

Here’s how it works.

The system will broadcast messages out, via the web, but its true impact is driven by Citizen Interactive Registration. This is where residents and business owners can choose how they’d like to be notified in the case of an emergency — options include email, text messages, or phone calls (to work, home or cellphone numbers). One you register, you can also invite family and friends to join the system, build out a personal emergency network for notifications and register your household as a special needs home if that’s the case.

While a database of landline phone numbers in the system will be regularly updated to ensure that all business and landlines will receive major state of emergency notifications, even if that number isn’t registered, the city is strongly encouraging everyone to sign up for the service. To do so, click here and follow the simple steps.