Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility City of Monterey, CA

Emergency Resources

new emergency alert system announced by county, March 8, 2024
The County of Monterey Department of Emergency Management (DEM) is beginning its transition to a new Alert and Warning System, Genasys ALERT. This transition follows a year of in-depth evaluation, a multi-jurisdictional Alert and Warning Exercise, and extensive Genasys ALERT platform development.

For the general public, this change will have minimal impacts. The name of the alert system remains the same: Alert Monterey County. Those already enrolled will find their accounts and contact information migrated to the new system. People can update their accounts anytime by visiting www.alertmontereycounty.org and resetting their password or texting their zip code to 65513. Those who have not yet signed up to receive alerts can use the same methods to sign up.

There is a new look to the Alert Monterey County webpage and portal:
New webpage: https://www.readymontereycounty.org/prepare/stay-informed
Alert Monterey County/Genasys ALERT Registration Page: https://alertmontereycounty.genasys.com/portal/en

Beginning today, notifications or alerts sent by County of Monterey Department of Emergency Management or Emergency Communications will go out through the new system. There will be training on the new system for jurisdictional partners.

Please see the attached news releases for more information.
Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Links

Disaster Preparedness Guide

12 way to prepare - download to print
12-ways-to-prepare
shark sightings - signs to be aware of

Living on the California coast, if you recreate or work in or around the coastline, it is typical to see a plethora of marine life. From tiny invertebrates, to fishes, kelp forests, marine mammals, and yes, even sharks. We are sharing this space with many others that make up the natural ecosystem. The City of Monterey wants you to be aware and stay safe. We have designed new signs to alert beach goers in cases where sharks may be spotted. While very rare, and humans are not part of the shark diet, sometimes encounters happen. Luckily, we have many community partners, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hopkins Marine Station, UC Santa Cruz, and others that are considered the local shark experts. We appreciate working with these experts to help make sure both the wildlife and human life are safe and healthy. You can help - if you see one of these signs posted, please take note and following recommendations. If a beach is closed, do not enter the water.
Shark-Warning-Sign (2)Shark-Closure-Sign
Monterey county multi-jurisdictional hazardous mitigation plan (MJHMP)
Excerpt from the Executive Summary: Monterey County is vulnerable to a wide range of natural and manmade hazards. These hazards can threaten the life and safety of residents and visitors and have the potential to damage or destroy both public and private property and disrupt the local economy and overall quality of life. While the threats from hazard events may never be fully eliminated, there is much we can do to lessen their potential impact on our communities. By minimizing the damaging impacts of hazards upon our built environment, we can prevent such events from resulting in disasters. The concept and practice of reducing risks to people and property from known hazards is called hazard mitigation.

Call if you Can, Text if you Can't

9-1-1CALL IF YOU CAN, TEXT IF YOU CAN'T... that is the message being spread by Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito County emergency communications centers. You can now text 911 to reach emergency responders in the tri-county area. Texting to 9-1-1 can be a benefit to those who are hearing impaired or in a situation where calling may put them at a greater risk such as domestic violence, while hiding from an intruder, or in a vehicle being driven by a drunk driver.

Texting 9-1-1 should be used as a last resort as calling 9-1-1 is faster; text messages can take longer to receive and may come in out of sequence. Location accuracy isn’t always as good as calling and, if you’re roaming or the text can’t get through, it will bounce back with a message saying “call 9-1-1."

Currently there are no language translation services available; all text messages to 9-1-1 must be in English using the Latin (regular) character set. The text messages should not include acronyms, emojis, or photos and they cannot be sent as a group message.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled and the service is unavailable, use a teletypewriter or TTY if available.
Featured Video