Wildfires, floods and more: Stanislaus County urges residents to register for emergency alerts
Last year it was power shutoffs by PG&E during high winds, in the two years prior it was Tuolumne River flooding, and this year it’s the second largest wildfire in state history. Every time there is an emergency, the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services reminds residents to register to get alerts through the StanAware program.
The mass notification system used by the county sends alerts by telephone, text or email to affected residents within a certain geographic area. The messages will contain information about the type of emergency and instructions to follow.
Regardless of whether a resident has registered, the system is used as a reverse 911 to notify people of imminent danger, like in the case of Diablo Grande residents ordered to evacuate as the SCU Lightning Complex Fire approached their homes last week. For those who were not registered, the notice automatically goes to landlines in an affected area or cell phones with a billing address there.
But by registering you can sign up to get alerts on locations other than your home, said OES spokesman Raj Singh.
For example, you can sign up to get alerts for your child’s school or daycare, the home of an elderly family member, or your place of business. You can also register to receive alerts on up to 10 phone numbers.
Some cities like Turlock use the system more than others, said Chad Homme, Stanislaus OES communications coordinator. He said the city uses it to tell residents to shelter in place when there is police activity in their neighborhood and used if when a mountain lion prowled the city in 2014.
Homme said 8,788 Stanislaus County residents have singed up for StanAware emergency alerts but he wants to see that number grow to reflect the population here.
StanAware is also the program used to send daily reports about COVID-19 rates in the county. Those are sent to anyone who signs up by texting stancovid19 to 888-777, but the messaging could become more targeted. Singh said the county is considering using the locations people register to inform them if they are in a COVID-19 hot spot.
The StanAware website reminds residents that there could be situations in which phone or email communication are not possible. This was the case last week in Del Puerto Canyon where at least one couple reported losing both their landline and cellphone service before narrowly escaping their home destroyed by the wildfire.
“We encourage citizens to develop and practice individual and family emergency planning,” the website says. “Emergencies are defined as situations or impending situations caused by forces of nature, accident or an intentional act that constitutes a danger of major proportions to life and property.”
To get emergency alerts go to www.StanAware.com to access the Everbridge Member Portal to create an account and register your devices.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 1:51 PM.
