Don't panic if you get an emergency preparedness message Tuesday

"Tuesday's exercise will primarily involve administrative employees, like public information officers, testing emergency notifications on the back end and receiving training on new technology systems. There are no pressing actions the public needs to take, and no emergency services will be interrupted, said Brentt Blaser, emergency manager for Alameda County Office of Emergency Services. But each jurisdiction will send its own message to residents, with some variation, encouraging them to create an emergency preparedness plan, Blaser said."

"Unless there is an actual emergency, none of the sirens should be activated tomorrow, and there won't be more police cars, fire trucks or engines, or other field resources out of the ordinary. "There's nothing happening in the actual, general public," Blaser said. The Oakland police and fire departments did not immediately respond to questions from The Oaklandside regarding their plans for tomorrow's messaging for residents."

"Residents who are opted into AC Alert, Alameda County's emergency notification system, received a text message Monday morning informing them that the county and local cities will "test emergency notification systems, improve coordination, and rehearse public messaging" the following day. Tuesday's exercise will primarily involve administrative employees, like public information officers, testing emergency notifications on the back end and receiving training on new technology systems."

""We sent this message out today to hopefully build more trust and make sure the public knows that we're doing the best we can to keep up with the latest trends," Blaser told The Oaklandside. Each jurisdiction will send its own message to residents, with some variation, encouraging them to create an emergency preparedness plan, Blaser said."

Police and fire departments across Alameda County will conduct a regional emergency alert and warning training on May 12. Residents opted into AC Alert received a text message stating that county and city systems will be tested, coordination will be improved, and public messaging will be rehearsed. The exercise will mainly involve administrative employees such as public information officers, who will test emergency notifications behind the scenes and receive training on new technology systems. No pressing public actions are required, and emergency services will not be interrupted. Each jurisdiction will send its own message to residents, encouraging creation of an emergency preparedness plan. Sirens should not be activated unless there is a real emergency, and field resources will not be deployed unusually.

Read at The Oaklandside