Orange County authorities contacted a record number of residents this year in the sixth annual test of a system for mass notification of major events or threats.
With 29 cities teaming up with the county, that includes a population of more than 2.5 million people, officials said.
This year marked the highest number of cities participating.
The system made 612,542 phone calls and issued 82,022 emails and 43,181 text messages, for a total of 737,745 contacts, according to Brooke Federico, senior emergency management program coordinator.
“We’re very excited about it. Our goal with this teach year is to increase our registrations” for notifications, Federico said.
So far, 131,803 residents have registered to be contacted by the system, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock. Using a “reverse 911” system, the county has the potential of calling 1.3 million residents, he said.
The best ways to sign up for an alert are online at alertoc.com or by calling (714) 628-7054.
AlertOC is designed to let as many people as possible know about disasters or other dangerous situations.
The test is part of National Preparedness Month.
Authorities say the region faces increased drought-related threats, such as wildfires, and expected El Nino storms that could cause severe flooding and mudslides.
Through the system, authorities can let residents known about evacuation orders.
As part of Thursday’s drill, the county’s emergency public information hotline — (714) 628-7085 — was available from 10 a.m. to noon to offer tips.
—City News Service