Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: alertoc

Largest-ever AlertOC test call to reach 2.5 million residents on Thursday

Posted on by Posted in Emergencies, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Alert OC

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org; Carrie Braun, 714.647.1848, CBraun@ocsd.org

Largest-Ever AlertOC Test Call to Reach 2.5 Million Residents Thursday

SANTA ANA, Calif. (September 22, 2015) – As part of National Preparedness Month, nearly 2.5 million Orange County residents will receive a phone call and e-mail on Sept. 24 to test the County’s mass notification system. This is the sixth annual, and largest-ever, regional test of AlertOC, involving 25 participating cities and the County’s unincorporated areas.

This year, Southern California is faced with dual ever-increasing, weather-related threats. The state’s historic drought elevated the wildfire danger to unchartered levels, and the El Niño storms are anticipated to be massive. Both wildfires and flooding occur rapidly, forcing evacuations and road closures to neighborhoods. AlertOC, the County’s mass notification system, is a critical link for residents to immediately learn of any required actions, such as evacuating their homes during an imminent fire. Continue reading→

Register for AlertOC and take part in National Preparedness Month

Posted on by Posted in Earthquakes, Emergencies, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

National Preparedness Month

Santa Ana Police Department

AdvisoryTake Part in National Preparedness Month – Register for AlertOC

September marks National Preparedness Month, urging residents and businesses to prepare for the many hazards that threaten our daily lives and sense of normalcy – most often occurring in Southern California with little to no warning.

AlertOC, the County’s mass notification system, is a critical link for residents to immediately learn of any required actions, such as evacuating their homes during an imminent fire. On September 24, more than two million Orange County residents will receive a call to test AlertOC. The drill will replicate a large scale, multi-jurisdictional emergency requiring thousands of numbers to be called simultaneously across Orange County’s entire region. This is the sixth annual regional test of the system and will include 24 participating cities as well as the County’s unincorporated areas. Continue reading→

Register for 4th Annual Regional Test of AlertOC with New Smartphone App

Posted on by Posted in Emergencies, Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock (714) 647 7042/Gail Krause, (714) 647-1840

Register for 4th Annual Regional Test of AlertOC with New Smartphone App

SILVERADO, California – (September 6, 2013) – New smartphone apps are now available for AlertOC, Orange County’s regional mass notification system. Available for iPhone and Android smartphones, these apps will allow users to receive push notifications, review past messages, update contact information, and set device and language preferences. Smartphone users can find the app by searching “Blackboard MyConnect” in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Continue reading→

6.9 earthquake strikes Mexico’s Baja California, on day of California ShakeOut drill

Posted on by Posted in california, Earthquakes, mexico, Public Safety, Sal Tinajero, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Today at 10:21 am, millions of people practiced “Drop, Cover and Hold On” in the 2010 California ShakeOut drill!  Here in Santa Ana, many of our residents were contacted during the drill by the Orange County AlertOC program, which was coordinated with the City of Santa Ana, according to Councilman Sal Tinajero’s blog.

Sure enough, a 6.9 earthquake struck this morning, at 11:53 am, in the Gulf of Mexico, near Los Mochis, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.  It followed a 4.6 earthquake in the same region, at 9:38 this morning.

While these quakes occurred in the ocean, in the Gulf of California, only a moderate Tsunami alert was issued.

Click here for Emergency Preparedness information from the Red Cross of Orange County, which is located in Santa Ana.

First-ever regional test of AlertOC to call over 600,000 O.C. residents

Posted on by Posted in Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2010
Contact: Brooke De Baca, (714) 834-6203, Brooke.DeBaca@ocgov.com

First-Ever Regional Test of AlertOC to Call Over 600,000 OC Residents

(Santa Ana, CA) – More than 600,000 Orange County residents will receive a call on 10/21 at 10:21 a.m. to test the County’s regional mass notification system known as AlertOC. This is the first-ever regional test of the system since its launch in 2008 and will include 20 participating cities and the County’s unincorporated areas.

The test calls will attempt to reach residents in conjunction with the time of the Great California ShakeOut, the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. To date, AlertOC has been used within local jurisdictions for both system tests and actual notifications. The exercise on Oct. 21 is designed to replicate a large scale, multi-jurisdictional emergency requiring thousands of numbers to be called simultaneously across Orange County’s entire region.

The phone message will urge all residents to prepare for real-life emergencies by registering their cell numbers, text numbers and e-mail addresses at www.AlertOC.com for the best chance to receive vital, timely information when away from home.

Residents in the following cities will receive an AlertOC call on Oct. 21: Aliso Viejo, Buena Park, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda and unincorporated areas.

In addition, San Juan Capistrano will use AlertOC on Oct. 18 to reach residents as part of the annual community siren test. Residents in Dana Point and unincorporated Orange County south of Ortega Hwy will receive the annual community siren test message on Oct. 19.

AlertOC is used by 32 Orange County cities. Any city not participating in this regional test may have recently performed a system test call.

Emergencies can happen at any time. A wildfire could spread or a flood could close the roads to a neighborhood while residents are away from home. In these instances, AlertOC is a critical link for residents to immediately learn of any required actions.

For more information or to register alternate phone numbers, visit www.AlertOC.com.

# # #

AlertOC Credited with Help in Locating Missing Child

Posted on by Posted in Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 2010
Contact: Brooke De Baca, (714) 834-6203, Brooke.DeBaca@ocgov.com

AlertOC Credited with Help in Locating Missing Child

The effectiveness of Orange County’s AlertOC mass notification system was once again demonstrated when Huntington Beach law enforcement notified residents of a missing child description.

“The Alert OC system allowed the Police Department to quickly inform the public of the missing child,” said Huntington Beach Chief of Police Kenneth Small. “As a direct result of the message, the child was located by a Huntington Beach resident who had received the message, and observed the child riding a bicycle more than six miles away from where he was last seen.”

The AlertOC system was also credited in October 2009 for the safe return of two minors in Laguna Beach.

AlertOC is recognized as the sole Countywide mass notification system used by the County and 32 Orange County cities to notify residents and businesses during an earthquake, flood or fire. Community events, however, such as missing children may also warrant urgent community messages. The robust system is capable of releasing three million 60-second voice messages, one million e-mails and 1.8 million text messages per hour.

Registrations of cell phones and alternate numbers increase the potential of reaching the greatest number of community members as rapidly as possible. The key feature of AlertOC is the ability for residents to register more than one contact method at a specific address. This enables landlines, cell phones and e-mail addresses to be incorporated into a single notification system.

The AlertOC system is regularly updated with landline phone numbers and the registration of daytime numbers, cell phones, text devices and e-mail accounts by community members is vital to ensure the timely delivery of alert notifications. The County urges residents and businesses to visit www.AlertOC.com to register their alternate numbers for this purpose.

The AlertOC web-based subscription service provides real-time information during emergencies and disasters. Additional types of alerts may include information on evacuation orders, road closures and school closures. Messages may also relay details on minor incidents such as power outages.

Community members and businesses are encouraged to register alternate numbers and find more information at www.AlertOC.com.

# # #

Storms prompt cities to activate AlertOC, residents encouraged to register

Posted on by Posted in Orange County, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Weather Leave a comment

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 19, 2010

Contact: Jessica Good 714.834.6203 office

Storms Prompt Cities to Activate AlertOC, Community Members Encouraged to Register

(Santa Ana, CA)— As the second in a series of storms brings severe weather today, local cities including Seal Beach and Westminster are keeping the community informed by activating Orange County’s regional emergency notification system, AlertOC.

Using AlertOC capabilities, the County of Orange and 31 participating OC cities are able to geographically target messages to neighborhoods directly impacted by storm conditions. Those living and working in the area are encouraged to click here and register to receive these important communications. Continue reading→