Tag Archives: CodeRED emergency notification system

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Point to Need for Local Disaster Preparation

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While the tragic earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan have not had a significant effect on the west coast or the interior shoreline of San Francisco Bay, this event serves as a blunt reminder to the Bay Area that a disaster can strike quickly, without warning, and with devastating consequences. The Redwood City Fire Department wants to remind our community that preparing one’s family and home for a possible disaster – earthquake, flood, or fire, for example – can make a life-or-death difference.

The Redwood City Fire Department offers information and tips for disaster preparedness on its web page located at www.redwoodcity.org/fire. In the event of a major disaster, homes, neighborhoods, or entire areas may be without basic services like water, gas, electricity, and telephones, or access to stores and other services for several hours or days. While public safety personnel will be on the scene after a disaster, they cannot reach everyone right away. Therefore, the best way to ensure the safety of family and home is to be well-prepared before disaster strikes.

The Fire Department encourages Redwood City residents and businesses to do their part to prepare for disaster – and offers these links to get started (all of these are also on the Fire Department’s website):

And, even though the tsunami resulting from the Japan earthquake has not significantly affected the waters here in the Bay Area, it’s important for anyone living near our coastline to have information about tsunamis.

Visit Redwood City’s award-winning website at www.redwoodcity.org for information about the City and its services, the community, recreation programs, education, and local business. Subscribe to Redwood City’s email newsletter and other City documents by visiting www.redwoodcity.org/egov .

Redwood City to Test Emergency Telephone Notification System, Urges Community to Register

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Redwood City will be implementing a citywide test of its CodeRED emergency notification system on Monday, November 8th. This system will deliver a pre-recorded non-emergency message to all phone numbers in its database, as a test and to help update that calling list. Other than for a test, this system is only used in an emergency.

Residents are encouraged to go to www.redwoodcity.org/codered to register for the CodeRED emergency notification system. Those without Internet access can call 650-780-7300 to have a CodeRED registration form sent to them which they can fill out and return.

This system allows the City to deliver pre-recorded, bilingual emergency telephone notification messages to targeted geographic areas – or the entire City – at a rate of up to 60,000 calls per hour. The existing database of phone numbers is significant, but it’s important to have as many residents and businesses as possible entered into the system.

Additionally, people can add their cell phone, work phone (even if out of the area), or other alternate number. By doing so, they are sure to be called when a CodeRED alert is activated in the area of their home or business, as both the primary and alternate number will be called. Email and text notification are also available. This service is available to all Redwood City addresses, as well as those outside the City limits in the North Fair Oaks, Emerald Hills, or other unincorporated areas directly adjacent to Redwood City.

Monday’s test of the system will continue until calls to the entire database have been attempted. Numbers that do not connect will be recalled during the week to ensure they are inoperable. This test gives Redwood City public safety staff the opportunity to operate the system as if there has been a community wide disaster, and will help to update the system’s database.

CodeRED was used earlier this year to alert selected areas about a sewage spill in the Redwood Shores lagoon. Other neighborhood or area alerts have been related to creek overflows and flooding, significant fires, mountain lion sightings, missing persons, and other critical and time-sensitive events.

The CoderRED application is a geographical-based high-speed notification system, which means street addresses are required so that emergency operations staff can select which areas’ phone numbers will receive emergency notification calls. The system works for cell phones as long as they’re associated with a street address. People who have recently moved but kept the same listed or unlisted phone number will benefit by updating their address in the CodeRED database. Information in the CodeRED database remains completely private and will only be used to notify community members of critical emergency situations.

The tragic explosion and fire in San Bruno earlier this fall highlights the need for residents to take steps to be prepared for disaster. Registering for CodeRED is one easy thing that everyone can do. Additionally, Redwood City residents are urged to visit www.redwoodcity.org/disasterprep where they’ll find information on household emergency planning, disaster kits, what to do before, during, and after a disaster, and more.

Visit Redwood City’s website at www.redwoodcity.org for information about the City and its services, the community, recreation programs, education, and local business. Subscribe to Redwood City’s electronic newsletter or other City documents at www.redwoodcity.org/egov

Redwood City Thanks Residents for Patience During Sewage Spill

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Redwood City would like to thank Redwood Shores residents for their patience during the unfortunate discharge of raw sewage into the lagoon on August 25th and the resulting temporary advisory against recreational use of the water.

As most readers will recall, at around 3 pm on that day a pressurized sewer pipeline ruptured near Davit Lane and Anchor Circle. Raw sewage was discharged onto the surface, entering six nearby garages and flowing into the adjacent lagoon.

City crews were on the scene shortly after the pipeline failure and began work to identify and repair the break. Contractors and specialized cleanup crews were also on site, and all appropriate regulatory agencies were notified. Through the City’s automated CodeRED emergency phone notification system and warning signs posted at beaches, along with extensive media coverage, residents were advised to avoid any contact with the lagoon water. Through a series of valves, gates, and pumps the City prevented the exchange of water between the lagoon and the bay.

After first expecting that the failure was from a broken valve, it turned out that instead the break was actually in a section of pipeline, which required a more extensive and lengthy repair process. During the time it took to repair the break, the sewage flow was continually being pumped into tanker trucks and transported to the nearby sewage treatment plant pump station.

Initially, the City reported a spill of 5,000 gallons which was an estimate put forth within the Two-Hour Notification time period required by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. That initial estimate was, by necessity, made while the spill was still in progress. Once the spill was stopped and upon further analysis of all the data, the City reported a revised calculated estimate of 48,000 gallons.

Subsequent testing of the lagoon water showed high levels of coliform bacteria including E.coli, and so the City continued its advisory to avoid any contact with the lagoon water. Several more CodeRED phone calls were made to residents to keep them apprised of the situation.

On September 1, the lagoon water was treated with a bactericide, with concurrence by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Further testing was showing some improvement in the water quality, likely in combination with sunlight breaking down the material, and natural bacterial die-off.

However on September 2, just before the Labor Day weekend, the tragic crash of a small plane into the diamond basin area of the lagoon further complicated the City’s ability to re-open the lagoon to public use, since there was concern with the potential for fuel and oil in the water. Further, the Federal Aviation Administration and other authorities became involved, thereby precluding the City from making an independent decision at that time on reopening the lagoon.

On September 7 the San Mateo County Environmental Health Department informed Redwood City that the water quality in the Redwood Shores lagoons was safe for normal human contact. The next day, the City removed its advisory concerning contact with the water, and informed residents that they could resume normal recreational activities in the Redwood Shores lagoon.

The City’s investigation into the cause of the pipeline break is still underway, and no conclusions have yet been reached. It’s important to let residents know that the City does have an extensive preventative maintenance schedule for the entire sewer system involving regular, frequent inspection of pump station systems, in addition to 24/7 automated remote monitoring.

This unfortunate set of circumstances is a reminder of how important it is for residents to register their phone numbers to be notified of emergencies in their neighborhood. Please be sure to go to www.redwoodcity.org/codered   to sign up, or update your contact information.