The City of Palo Alto announced that it will conduct a test of its emergency alert system on Thursday, December 14 at noon to ensure that residents who have signed up receive emergency notifications as defined in their account settings.
According to a statement from the city, the test is also intended to raise community awareness about the city's emergency alert system, as only one-third of Palo Alto residents are currently registered to receive such alerts.
The City uses AlertSCC, a Santa Clara County emergency notification system used by all cities in the county, to alert the public about floods, wildfires, or other public safety events.
The alert system is an approach used to communicate and keep the public informed during an emergency to share the community's impacts and risks to public safety.
AlertSCC is free to everyone and quick and easy to set up, with users able to select whether alerts are sent directly to their mobile device, landline and/or email address.
To register for the city's emergency alert system, interested parties can visit the site www.alertscc.com.
The City of Palo Alto said it plans to conduct a test of the emergency alert system annually each December. The emergency notification will indicate that the message is only a “test.” If you already have an account, you will receive the “test” alert as a call, text message, and/or email message, depending on your account preferences.
Local officials asked that people refrain from calling the city's 24-hour dispatch center (either 9-1-1 or (650) 329-2413) after testing to ask questions or obtain additional information.
“Our public safety dispatchers are not involved in this test and have no way to control their alert preferences,” they said.
In addition to Palo Alto's emergency alert system, there are other ways for the community to stay informed before, during and after an emergency, public safety incident or other event that poses a risk to the public safety of residents.
These include:
- Nixle Alerts from the Police Department: https://local.nixle.com/palo-alto-police-department/
- Official website of the city of Palo Alto at www.cityofpaloalto.org
- Uplift Local Digital Newsletter from the City of Palo Alto, subscribe at www.cityofpaloalto.org/upliftlocalnews
- City of Palo Alto social media channels including Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Follow the City on these platforms at www.cityofpaloalto.org/connect
- Real-time storm-related community impacts in www.cityofpaloalto.org/stormupdate
- Palo Alto Emergency Public Information Recorded Line at (650) 329-2420.
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