How to sign up for emergency alerts

Signing up for a variety of services can help with being prepared

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A variety of agencies and companies offer text, email and push alerts that can help you prepare for wildfires, earthquakes and other emergencies. Here are some free apps and services to help you stay in the loop.

Wildfires

Cal Fire ~ Cal Fire offers a text message service to keep users updated on area fires. Sign up at bit.ly/3qC6Jmu. While on the website, you can also create a wildfire readiness plan.

Watch Duty app ~ Watch Duty provides users with real-time information about fire movement and firefighting efforts in your area. Watch Duty covers all of California. Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

AirVisual by IQAir ~ IQAir is a Swiss technology company that measures air quality across North America and Asia. The company offers an app called AirVisual, a real- time air quality information platform. You can set your location and see readings from air stations in your area. Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

ALERTCalifornia ~ ALERTCalifornia is a public safety organization based at the University of California, San Diego. The program manages more than 1,000 wildfire monitoring cameras across California. By going to bit.ly/3xs2AFC, you can access live video streams.

Earthquakes

ShakeAlert ~ ShakeAlert is an earthquake detection and alert system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. It sends alerts when the first signs of a major earthquake are detected. Smartphones in California running Google’s Android operating system have the builtin ability to receive ShakeAlert notifications.

If you don’t automatically receive ShakeAlerts, here’s how you can fix it: Go to settings, click on notifications, and scroll to government alerts. Once there, you can toggle on and off the earthquake alert system.

Apps for Apple and Android smartphones that will display ShakeAlert messages in California include MyShake from the University of California, Berkeley and QuakeAlert USA from Early Warning Labs.

Power outages

Pacific Gas and Electric ~ To sign up for notifications about planned power outages, scheduled repairs or other issues in your area, visit Pacific Gas and Electric’s alerts page on its website. If you don’t use PG&E, visit your company's website. Typically, there will be a page explaining how you can sign up for timely alerts.

Other emergency alerts

SoCoAlert ~ The County of Sonoma offers SoCoAlert, a service that allows first responders to send messages directly to users in the event of an emergency. These may include evacuation notifications, shelter-in-place orders, boil water advisories, tsunami warnings and flood warnings. You can customize the types of notifications you receive and add multiple addresses for the system to monitor. To sign up, go to bit.ly/3Dn-W5rc.

The County of Sonoma offers SoCoAlert, a service that allows first responders to send messages directly to users in the event of an emergency. These may include evacuation notifications, shelter-in-place orders, boil water advisories, tsunami warnings and flood warnings. You can customize the types of notifications you receive and add multiple addresses for the system to monitor. To sign up, go to bit.ly/3Dn-W5rc.

Nixle ~ Nixle allows public safety agencies to communicate with the public about local emergencies. The app enables real-time, two-way communication with police, firefighters, and other public safety workers through text, email, voice messages, and social media. Nixle is a free service and can be customized so that you only receive alerts about events in your area. To sign up, go to Nixle.

Wireless Emergency Alerts
Most cellphone users automatically receive Wireless Emergency Alerts broadcast by federal, state, tribal and local authorities. These include Amber Alerts about missing children, as well as “imminent threat alerts” about extreme weather, disasters, and active shooters or other emergencies in your area. If you are not receiving Wireless Emergency Alerts, here’s what you can do:
1. Check the settings on your cellphone.

To manually enable emergency alerts, go to settings, click on notifications, and scroll to government alerts. Once there, you can toggle on and off the kinds of alerts that you want to receive. There are options for Amber Alerts, emergency alerts, public safety alerts and test alerts.

2. Check with your wireless provider to see if they can resolve the issue.