Disaster Preparedness

Emergency Notifications

Understanding Evacuation Levels

Lane Alerts
Other Emergency Notifications and Systems

Hazard Specific Notifications

You may receive emergency notifications on your smartphone, computer, or landline for a variety of different hazards.  Click the hazard below to learn more about its specific notifications.

Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Wildfires
Winter Weather
Floods
Excessive Heat Notifications
Wind Alerts

Understanding Evacuation Levels

Figure 1 – Be Ready, Be Set, Go Now, OEM

It is important to familiarize yourself with the evacuation levels and their subsequent actions. These evacuation notifications can be issued for a variety of disasters and will likely be sent out in addition to hazard-specific notifications.

    • Level 1 “Be Ready” Notifications inform you that there is a hazard near your area. If you receive this notification, you should be planning your evacuation routes and ensuring go-bags are packed and ready.
    • Level 2 “Be Set” Notifications inform you that there is a significant hazard in your area and you should be set to evacuate at a moment’s notice. This is not the time for planning, but putting your plans into action should you need to evacuate.
    • Level 3 “GO NOW!” Notifications instruct you to evacuate immediately as there is extreme danger in your area. Do not stop to pack a bag, do not doddle and make preparations. Take immediate action and do not wait for further instruction. A level 3 “GO NOW” evacuation alert is the last alert if you will receive. If you receive a Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuation notification and are in need of evacuation assistance, call 911.

If you receive a Level 3 “GO NOW” evacuation notification and choose not to evacuate, you are committing to that decision. Emergency managers and responders ask that you do not call for help if you made the decision not to evacuate during a level 3 “GO NOW” scenario, as you are putting the lives of first responders at risk and taking away resources that should be spent rescuing vulnerable community members in need of evacuation assistance.

Lane Alerts

Each county in Oregon has a local emergency notifications system. LaneAlerts is the updated emergency notification system for Lane County. All Lane County residents are encouraged to register for LaneAlerts, even if you already registered with AlertMe (the previous notification system) as that system is no longer operating.

Sign up now to stay in the know about any disaster or emergency that may occur in your area at www.LaneAlerts.org or text your ZIP code to 888777. You will be asked to sign up for an account and can then decide how and when you would like to be notified.

Learn more about the LaneAlerts system:

Find your county’s Emergency Notification System here.

Other Emergency Notificaitons Systems

There is a variety of emergency notification systems that you can sign up for to make sure that you are getting the most updated information at all times. We highly recommend registering for LaneAlerts in addition to the other notification systems below.

Government Issued Alerts

    • The State and Federal governments use the Wireless Emergency Alerts system (WEA) to alert people about disasters, provide public safety alerts, and issue Amber Alerts.
    • Make sure your registered to receive WEAs on your smartphone and modify the types of alerts you receive. To do this, open your smartphone and go to SETTINGS, NOTIFICATIONS, then scroll to the bottom of your notifications and you will see “GOVERNMENT ALERTS”. There you can sign up and modify the type of government issued alerts that you receive on your smartphone.

ShakeAlert

    • ShakeAlert is an earthquake early warning system managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that detects and alerts people of earthquakes before the shaking starts.
    • Download the MyShake app on your smartphone for the most updated information and alerts.
    • Learn more about signing up for ShakeAlert here.

FEMA Alerts

    • Download the FEMA app on your smartphone and sign up to receive emergency alerts and notifications for locations of your choice around the United States.
    • Sign up to receive alerts for your local area as well as areas you may frequent, places where friends and relatives live, etc.
    • The FEMA app is also a resource for further learning about emergency preparedness.

NOAA Weather Radio (NWR)

    • The NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting the current weather conditions and weather forecasts of your local area.
    • Find your local station or listen online at https://www.weather.gov/nwr/.

City of Florence City Hall in the Smokey Conditions During the 2020 Wild Fires