CodeRED Down: The Cyberattack That Left Belmont County, Ohio in the Dark

From November 13–20, 2025, Belmont County, Ohio, had no working CodeRED emergency alert system, leaving residents without warnings for water advisories, severe weather, or public safety threats. The outage was caused by a nationwide cyberattack on CodeRED’s parent company, Crisis24, and was accompanied by a data breach involving personal information of registered users. Nearly 11,000 Belmont County residents were signed up for the system. In this episode, county officials are confronted about their response to the outage, revealing gaps in communication, coordination, and public notification. As questions mount, responsibility appears to shift between agencies while residents wait for clear answers. This episode examines how the emergency alert system failed — and how journalist Karen Fatula sought transparency and accountability on behalf of the public.