Santa Cruz County emergency response officials are planning a test of the county’s alert and warning system at 10 a.m. today.
Anyone on or off campus who has the alert app called “CodeRED” on their phone or who has signed up for the service may receive the message.
The Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery, and Resilience (OR3), the county Sheriff's Office, and Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 are organizing the test to help community disaster preparedness.
In the event of an actual emergency, alerts may be used to warn residents of natural disasters or other impending dangers, alert them to care and shelter resources, provide boil water notices and other public health information.
Residents with landlines, as well those who have registered their cell phones,VoIP (cable) phones, and emails, or who have downloaded the CodeRED app, will receive the alerts.
To assure participation in the drill, all residents are encouraged to register landlines, cell phones, or VoIP phones with CodeRED by visiting scr911.org and signing up for notifications, or texting SCR911 to 99411.
Residents are also encouraged to download the CodeRed app to their smart devices, allowing them to receive notifications based on their location. Residents may verify enrollment by visiting https://tinyurl.com/y2mxrnv4. Residents are also encouraged to add (866) 419-5000 and (218) 350-0131 as the two possible caller-ID phone numbers used by CodeRED. They will identify the call as a recognized contact.
If users have difficulty with the CodeRED system or need assistance with login credentials, call (866) 939-0911 or email crsupport@onsolve.com.
Following the alert, no further action is needed from residents. However, if anyone expected to receive the alert but did not, they are encouraged to update their registration information or call CodeRED to verify registration.
Residents will not receive an alert unless they have a landline, have enrolled their contact information with CodeRED, or have downloaded the CodeRED app. All residents are encouraged to enroll. For critical information during emergencies, residents are encouraged to follow emergency response agencies on social media as well as local news and radio.
More information on disaster preparedness is available at www.santacruzcounty.us/or3.
