Updated on 6/2/09 to delete the reference to reverse 911 which is a copyrighted phrase.

Orange County has sponsored a countywide emergency messaging system which can send out mass recorded phone messages, text messages, and e mails. The system is fairly new and was used in Yorba Linda to convey vital emergency evacuation instructions to residents affected by the Triangle Complex Fire. If you live or work in Seal Beach or Rossmoor, you should have already received a test message. Los Alamitos will send out their test message next Thursday.

Only those primary numbers that are “listed” in the 9-1-1 database for residential
and business phones are automatically included in call activations. However, residents can provide up to three phone numbers and two e-mail addresses by visiting the AlertOC website at www.alertoc.com. Those with a TTY/TDD device can register that information on the website as well.

If you are in Seal Beach or Rossmoor and have not already received a test message or an actual alert message, or are in Los Alamitos and do not receive the test message on Thursday, May 21, you should go to the Alert OC web site and register. On this site, you can select your City to begin the registration process. AS you go through the screens, the system will ask for your address.

The system is address driven. So, for example, if there is an emergency specific to a neighborhood, or even a specific street or block, the emergency personnel will select only the geographic area related to the emergency. Only the numbers associated with addresses within the emergency area will get the message. The system gives the users the option of entering information for their business or residence, but that does not address a person who might need notification for an area where they neither live or work.

A good example of this would be a school or church. If a person needs notifications for a location other then where they live or work, you can input multiple entries for either work or residence. Even though it appears that there are only options for one residence and one business, the number of businesses or residences you can create are not restricted. If you want to get notifications for more than two addresses, just create another work or residence for the address for which you want the notices.

Based on the severity of the event, AlertOC may be used to contact residents by one or all of the numbers and methods. The authority (County or City) responsible for generating emergency notifications will depend on the nature and scale of the incident.

The Alert OC system replaces the previous emergency notification system which was much slower to operate. Emergency personnel can use the new system to send messages in a matter of a few minutes. This system is separate from and independent of the system used by the Los Alamitos Unified School district. The district's system is driven by student registration data and does not have a user registration option. The district's system pulls the phone numbers and e mail addresses from the student registration data and accordingly, all students and their parents are already included in that system.