What is AlertTheBay.org?

AlertTheBay.org’s purpose is to direct the public to local emergency alerting systems throughout the 12 Bay Area counties and major cities, including Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. These systems are intended to quickly alert and inform Bay Area residents about local emergencies. Funded by the Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), AlertTheBay.org is a convenient way to access registration pages for multiple emergency alert systems.

Why is AlertTheBay.org important?

Your safety is priority #1. AlertTheBay.org makes it easy to sign up for alerts in communities across the Bay Area so you can stay informed, stay alert, and stay safe.

We are a mobile society. You may live in one Bay Area county, but work in another. Your children may attend school in a different jurisdiction than where your family members are during the day. Your favorite places to hike and picnic may be close to home but may not be in the same municipal area.

It is important to be aware of emergencies happening in places that are important to you – quickly.

AlertTheBay.org is a first step to making that happen.

How does AlertTheBay.org work?

Often, emergencies do not stop at jurisdictional boundaries, and navigating different government websites to find information can be difficult. AlertTheBay.org offers area residents, workers, business owners, college students, commuters, and visitors one convenient location to sign up for multiple emergency alert notifications. AlertTheBay.org itself does not relay alerts.

Once you are registered for alerts in as many Bay Area jurisdictions as you choose, you can receive emergency alerts on your cell phone, just as you do Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), such as AMBER and severe weather alerts.

What kinds of emergencies can I be alerted about?

From localized events, such as road closures and power outages to widespread events, such as poor air quality due to wildfires, AlertTheBay.org can connect you to the specific alerts you care about. The alerts you sign up for will help you to stay informed, so you can act and prepare for safety quickly.

What AlertTheBay.org is NOT

AlertTheBay.org is not an alerting system. It provides access to numerous alerting systems but does not include all the ways you may be alerted when an emergency strike. Alerts, for example, can come from sirens, loudspeakers, reverse 9-1-1 systems, and messages through your television, local broadcast radio, and social media. What is critical is that you are alerted and informed by the right source and that you have a plan in place and know what to do.

What is a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), and how can I get them?

A WEA is a short emergency message from authorized federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial public alerting authorities that can be broadcast from cell towers to any WEA‐enabled mobile device in a locally targeted area. WEA messages warn the public of an impending natural or human-caused disaster and can provide immediate, life-saving information. WEA is a partnership among the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and wireless providers to enhance public safety.

To get WEAs, your cell phone must be WEA-capable, switched on, and in the vicinity of and receiving service from a cell tower of a wireless carrier that participates in the WEA system. WEAs can be sent automatically to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without the need to download an app or subscribe to a service. Some participating carriers may offer WEA on some, but not all mobile devices.

Be sure to check with your wireless carrier to find out if your cell phone is WEA-capable.

What if I am not receiving WEAs or get the same one repeatedly?

If someone near you receives a WEA and you did not, it may be due to inadequate cell reception or because some mobile phones will not show an alert while a call is being made; this varies by cell phone make and model.
You may not be receiving WEAs because your mobile phone is:

• Set to “off” or “airplane mode”
• Not connected to a cell site that is broadcasting the alert
• Connected to a cell site that is not broadcasting the alert, undergoing maintenance, or is out-of-service
• Opted out of receiving alerts. The location of the alerts opt-in/opt-out menu typically is in the notification settings menu.

If your mobile phone continues to receive the same WEA repeatedly, it is likely an issue with the device. Mobile phones should ignore re-broadcasts of a WEA; however, a device sometimes gets stuck in a loop that repeatedly issues the same WEA. Powering off the device and turning it back on may help.

What about alerts for other places in California?

Visit http://calalerts.org/ to sign up for alerts from California jurisdictions outside of the Bay Area.

What if I leave California?

If you plan to travel elsewhere in the U.S., check out that state’s Office of Emergency Services website for available preparedness information and alerting options.
International travelers should visit the U.S. Department of State’s website at travel.state.gov to see threats and alerts associated with various destinations.

How can I stop receiving alert notifications?

To stop receiving alert notifications at any time, visit the alert websites to which you subscribed and remove your contact information from your profile.