Heavy El Niño rains began this week, flooding Santa Barbara County roadways and stalling traffic.
With more winter storms expected in the coming months, county officials unveiled a new communication tool Thursday they said will keep residents informed during storms and disasters in the future.
Officials gathered in the Santa Barbara County Emergency Operations Center, where a demonstration was given of the new Aware and Prepare emergency mass notification system and website.
The notification system has partnered with eight cities across the county in hopes that the right information will reach the right people when they need it.
With a social message board, a Twitter feed from a host of local agencies and more info, county officials described the Aware and Prepare website as a “one-stop shop” for emergency information.
With the storm season just gearing up, officials want to get the word out about the new service and are urging people to sign up for free notifications.
The Aware and Prepare program began in 2008 as a public-private partnership dedicated to strengthening disaster resiliency. Oversight of the program was recently transferred to Santa Barbara County.
Residents with phone land lines already listed in the Santa Barbara County 9-1-1 database will be automatically subscribed to alerts by phone, but Aware and Prepare’s notification system allows residents to self-register online and provide additional contact information.
About half of the county’s population do not have landline telephones, and unless people with cell phones sign up for a reverse notification call through the 9-1-1 system, they may not be notified, said Ryan Rockabrand, director for the county’s office of emergency management.
“We don’t have your cell phones,” he said.
The system will alert users in real time about severe weather, road closures, evacuations and other critical information during an emergency.
Users can choose a primary contact path — text, email, home phone, cell phone and others — and the county will try to reach the person until they acknowledge receipt of the message.
Rockabrand stressed that the success of the notifications rely on people signing up for the service with their current contact information.
“Every year the effectiveness of land lines decreases,” said Patrick Stuver, who works for Everbridge, the company which is providing the notifications.
The company is also behind the Nixle alerts that several communities in the county already use for public information.
People can sign up by going to the Aware and Prepare website here.
A user account can be created by clicking on the “Create Your Account” button and following the prompts.
Users can also add their main locations, like an address for home or work, and notifications will be tailored to what is happening in those geographic areas.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
