The OPEN Daily » LA County

County OKs Further Study of Tsunami Siren Warning System

TheOpenDaily — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:04:38 +0000

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a motion seeking more information on the scope and costs of a tsunami siren warning system for coastal communities, including Marina del Rey.

The motion co-sponsored by Supervisors Don Knabe, whose district includes the marina, and Zev Yaroslavsky seeks feedback from experts on siren systems to determine the cost of implementing and maintaining a siren warning system. It also asked for cost comparisons for installing a siren system in either unincorporated coastal areas of the county or deploying it along the entire county coastline.

The board in March voted unanimously for a report on the feasibility of a tsunami siren warning system in the wake of the deadly tsunami that ravaged Japan. The report by the county's Office of Emergency Management was returned May 18 to the board and was based on the findings of a working group that included the county's emergency office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the county's Department of Beaches and Harbors, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Department of Public Works.

The working group found that the California Emergency Management Agency has been conducting a survey of state coastal areas and the use of siren warning systems. It also analyzed conventional siren operations, siren activation, and the findings of a mass notification siren warning system test conducted by the sheriff's department in 2007 in Marina del Rey.

Knabe and Yaroslavsky's motion asked the Office of Emergency Management to proceed with the evaluation by the siren experts after CalEMA completes its survey. The motion also asked for the identification of possible funding sources.

Japan was struck March 11 by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that generated a tsunami with waves reaching 40 feet high that rolled into populated coastal areas, killing thousands and creating a nuclear crisis.

L.A. County officials urge residents to sign up for emergency alerts

TheOpenDaily — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles County residents can receive emergency official notifications by email, text message and phone, officials said Thursday.

The system was established in 2009, but officials wanted to remind the public to sign up for the service in light of the recent tsunami from Japan. The service, Alert LA County, is equipped to provide information on evacuations or other urgent news in a disaster, such as an earthquake or wildfire.

People can sign up to receive notification by email or on their cellphones by voice or text message at http://alert.lacounty.gov. The system will automatically call people with traditional landline phones. It only calls people in an area affected by the emergency, and calls people based upon the registered street address in the system.

If the number is busy or does not answer, the system will redial. If it reaches an answering machine, the system leaves a message.

– Rong-Gong Lin II

County May Face Fines for Marina Del Rey Pollution

editor — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:25:11 +0000

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board will vote in May on whether to fine the Los Angeles County Flood Control District $275,000 for pollution in the Marina del Rey harbor. LA County is charged with violating its storm water permit 186 times from 2007 to last year, allowing bacterial pollution to flow into Marina del Rey for more than two years.

The storm water permit required the County’s flood control district to maintain its storm sewer system and prevent pollutants from pouring into rivers, the ocean and harbors.

County Issues Emergency Survival Guide

editor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:35:32 +0000

The County Office of Emergency Management has issued a 100-page guide for residents, providing recommendations on how to prepare for “a major disaster,” survive and recover.

The guide is available online and includes tips on preparing for a litany of natural and man-made events.

Cautioning that residents may be on their own for several days in a major disaster, the guide warns that “the Los Angeles region is subject to various destructive emergencies including earthquakes, flood, landslides, wildfires, tornadoes, urban fires, tsunamis, hazardous material releases, terrorism, and civil unrest.”

The Emergency Survival Guide is available online at the County of Los Angeles’ website, www.lacounty.gov.