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

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.

As part of the Sept. 24 AlertOC drill, the County’s emergency public information hotline will be activated from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to provide preparedness tips and other emergency related information. Community members are invited to call (714) 628-7085 with questions on how to prepare their home or business for any emergency.

The distinctive feature of AlertOC is the ability to register more than one contact method at a specific address. Registrations of cell phone and alternate numbers dramatically increase the ability to reach the greatest number of community members within minutes. This enables landlines, cell phones and e-mail addresses to be incorporated into a single notification system.

Residents can take part in National Preparedness Month and prepare for emergencies by registering their cell phone numbers and e-mail address for AlertOC. For more information or to register alternate phone numbers and e-mail addresses, visit AlertOC.com.

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