Officials speak on how they are keeping residents prepared for emergency situations

Skip and Jenny Sergott are ready for any natural disaster to come their way, especially earthquakes.

“We’ve gone through one in Anaheim many, many years ago and you’ve got to be prepared for the big quake,” the Segotts said.

Preparation being the key point for them and other residents in Sun City, Palm Desert.

With county and community emergency management crews getting the word out about preparing for natural disasters after the deadly wildfires in Northern California.

“It’s not just earthquake. It’s about power outages. We could have a hazardous spill on the railway, so how can we respond? How can we help ourselves? So we’re not the target for all of the first responders,” said Robin Mack, Chairperson for the Sun City Palm Desert Emergency Preparedness Committee.

To help stay prepared, the community has their own emergency operations center in Indio, equipped with amateur radio systems, capable of reaching those beyond the valley.

Along with amateur radio systems, the Emergency Operations Center in Indio also uses the “Alert Rivco System.” This allows agencies to connect with emergency management to send out vital information to residents if a natural disaster were to happen.

“Once we gather if something were to happen, we activate the EOC, then once we gather all of that information, then we start sending it out to the public,” said Jose Contreras, Emergency Services Coordinator for the Riverside County Emergency Management. “Whether it’s social media, radio, any type of communication. This is where it will centrally be disseminated to the general public.”

“That might mean they are evacuating, we might be telling them to stay inside their homes, or after a big earthquake, if water systems are compromised and we have to tell them to boil water, we would call or email them or send them text messages,” Brooke Federico, Senior Public Information Specialist, Riverside County Emergency Management

County emergency management officials said they are also encouraging residents to register with cell phones and emails, being that they have a majority of land-line subscribers, and so everybody can receive alerts wherever they may be.

You can sign-up for “Alert Rivco” notifications online here or by calling (951)358-7100.