Get Alerted
Need Help?
janeterjung@gmail.com
janeterjung@gmail.com
Our mission is to help our neighbors stay connected and such
during power blackouts and other emergencies
by sharing information and our nerdy personal experiences.
during power blackouts and other emergencies
by sharing information and our nerdy personal experiences.
Don't Want to Sleep Through the Next Emergency?
SAFETY NET TOOLS
genasys PROTECT Mobile App
AlertLA
CodeRED Mobile Alert App
MyShake
QuakeAlertUSA
TCEP tweets - quick local info
TCEP - summary of agency info
Jane's Alert Tweets - local & agency info, nerd-style
City of Malibu Alerts
City of Calabasas Alerts
PulsePoint Get the app
or View on the web
Watching Over California 24/7 https://www.watchduty.org
SCE PSPS Alerts
-- Sign up by Zip Code or Account Number.
Free NOAA radio Midland WR120
Fancy NOAA radio ETON Sidekick ($92)
AMFM Bedside Radio PRUNUS J-166 Portable Radio AM FM ($10)
Blackout alarm Power Fail Light W/Alarm by Reliance Controls ($20)
Phones (Landlines, Cable, Smart)
FRS neighborhood walkie talkies: TURN ON!
—listen for neighbors & offer help
—use channel 1 or 2 or your TCEP Assigned Neighborhood Network channel
Bedside Air horn
—call for help if trapped
—or scare the cats shitless for fun
COMMUNITY INFO
TCEP tweets - quick local info
TCEP - summary of agency info
FRS - Top of the Hour from TCEP (channel 15)
— TCEP may transmit on the hour
Jane's Alert Tweets - local & agency info, nerd-style
Tweets o' Fire - webpage with 4 Fire Dept feeds
LocalScoop - Jane's emergency info page
Join Jane's private group:
"! Topanga Emergency - FIRST HAND Info" https://nextdoor.com/g/gw0xemnvn/
Jane's must-have newsletter
to subscribe: janeterjung@gmail.com
PHONE ALERTS
SIGN UP!
genasys PROTECT Mobile App
AlertLA
CodeRED Mobile Alert App
MyShake
QuakeAlertUSA
TCEP tweets - quick local info
TCEP - summary of agency info
Jane's Alert Tweets - local & agency info, nerd-style
City of Malibu Alerts
City of Calabasas Alerts
PulsePoint Get the app
or View on the web
Watching Over California 24/7 https://www.watchduty.org
SCE PSPS Alerts
-- Sign up by Zip Code or Account Number.
OTHER ALERTS
IF YOUR PHONES ARE DEAD
IF YOUR PHONES ARE DEAD
Free NOAA radio Midland WR120
Fancy NOAA radio ETON Sidekick ($92)
AMFM Bedside Radio PRUNUS J-166 Portable Radio AM FM ($10)
Blackout alarm Power Fail Light W/Alarm by Reliance Controls ($20)
Phones (Landlines, Cable, Smart)
FRS neighborhood walkie talkies: TURN ON!
—listen for neighbors & offer help
—use channel 1 or 2 or your TCEP Assigned Neighborhood Network channel
Bedside Air horn
—call for help if trapped
—or scare the cats shitless for fun
COMMUNITY INFO
TCEP tweets - quick local info
TCEP - summary of agency info
FRS - Top of the Hour from TCEP (channel 15)
— TCEP may transmit on the hour
Jane's Alert Tweets - local & agency info, nerd-style
Tweets o' Fire - webpage with 4 Fire Dept feeds
LocalScoop - Jane's emergency info page
Join Jane's private group:
"! Topanga Emergency - FIRST HAND Info" https://nextdoor.com/g/gw0xemnvn/
Jane's must-have newsletter
to subscribe: janeterjung@gmail.com
GET ALERTED
All the preparation in the world won't help us if we're ambushed by an emergency. Getting alerted as fast and effectively as possible is an essential part of our survival safety net.
Starting with our phones, there are several alerts we subscribe to - see them listed here. In addition, landline phones are automatically subscribed to AlertLA and WEA alerts are sent to ANY cell phone within a specific geographic region (including visitors to an area).
BUT WHAT IF WE LOSE POWER OR WE'VE MUTED OUR PHONES?
For years folks lobbied for canyon-wide sirens to wake us if needed, and it never seemed to get anywhere. This year's free NOAA Alert Radio is an improvement on this situation. Many of us got one from the County and some of us got one from Canyon Sages. But ANYONE can buy their own: same model or fancier versions that run on solar and/or hand-crank (make sure it's an S.A.M.E kind). ETON Sidekick ($92)
AN ALERT RADIO IS OUR PERSONAL SIREN
The NOAA Alert Radio serves to close and important gap in our emergency safety net. Its primary asset is its ability to WAKE US UP in an emergency. Especially if our home has lost power (like in the Woolsey Fire) and so we may not be receiving any of the phone alerts we have signed up for (AlertLA, CodeRed, MyShake, TCEP tweets, etc.). Also, many of us mute our phones at night and could sleep through those phone alerts.
AND BY PERSONAL, I MEAN ALL OF LA COUNTY
Have you looked at a map lately? ALL of LA County is HUGE. So, be prepared to be alerted for something far far. For those who got their radios up and working in the early days, it alerted us all to a large fire in Castaic. And then later it screamed out a Flood-O-Rama Thunderstorm in the San Gabriel mountains. For folks with small children and freakable dogs, it can be a pain, but the powers that be are working on making the defined area smaller than the whole county. For now, if it's a false alarm, just rejoice in it not being in your backyard.
BONUS TIP - ALERTS WORK BEST WITH A BUDDY RADIO
We added a bedside AM/FM radio that's pre-tuned to KNX 1070 so that we can quickly and easily check on the LOCATION of the LA County NOAA alert and if there are any evacuations for our zone. Some folks tell us they'll just use their car radio, but we'd rather stay inside (away from possible embers or earthquake hazards) and also if the alert is about the Outer Mongolia region of LA County, we plan to go back to sleep... PRUNUS J-166 Portable Radio AM FM ($10)
PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO
1-If you got a free one at a giveaway event
—it should be all programmed and ready to go once you insert batteries & plug it in
—maybe change the Alert Type from "VOICE" to "TONE" (louder & longer): see manual pg 5
—if you're a perfectionist who also wants the time set, see manual pg 1
2-If you bought your own Radio
—see the manual for programming
—for "CHANNEL", Topanga & Calabasas work best with Channel 7
—Malibu and Palisades might be best using Channel 7 or 4
WHAT THE FREE COUNTY RADIO DOES NOT DO
It does NOT get AM/FM stations. And it CANNOT be used to call anyone else. It lives and breathes just TO WAKE US UP in an emergency. But what about the weather report, you ask. Or the message that comes in with an alert? Well, it does have some info that comes in with the alert, but it's not the most useful source of local, detailed information, in our opinion.
*POWER OUTAGE BLACKOUT ALARM
—in wild and wooly Topanga and some parts of Malibu, a middle of the night power-outage may be the first sign of disaster. And if other parts of our safety net fail, it may be all that wakes us up
—we found the *cutest* little gadget that just plugs into an electrical outlet near our bed
—if the power fails, it screams out just like a smoke alarm
Power Fail Light W/Alarm by Reliance Controls ($20)
All the preparation in the world won't help us if we're ambushed by an emergency. Getting alerted as fast and effectively as possible is an essential part of our survival safety net.
Starting with our phones, there are several alerts we subscribe to - see them listed here. In addition, landline phones are automatically subscribed to AlertLA and WEA alerts are sent to ANY cell phone within a specific geographic region (including visitors to an area).
BUT WHAT IF WE LOSE POWER OR WE'VE MUTED OUR PHONES?
For years folks lobbied for canyon-wide sirens to wake us if needed, and it never seemed to get anywhere. This year's free NOAA Alert Radio is an improvement on this situation. Many of us got one from the County and some of us got one from Canyon Sages. But ANYONE can buy their own: same model or fancier versions that run on solar and/or hand-crank (make sure it's an S.A.M.E kind). ETON Sidekick ($92)
AN ALERT RADIO IS OUR PERSONAL SIREN
The NOAA Alert Radio serves to close and important gap in our emergency safety net. Its primary asset is its ability to WAKE US UP in an emergency. Especially if our home has lost power (like in the Woolsey Fire) and so we may not be receiving any of the phone alerts we have signed up for (AlertLA, CodeRed, MyShake, TCEP tweets, etc.). Also, many of us mute our phones at night and could sleep through those phone alerts.
AND BY PERSONAL, I MEAN ALL OF LA COUNTY
Have you looked at a map lately? ALL of LA County is HUGE. So, be prepared to be alerted for something far far. For those who got their radios up and working in the early days, it alerted us all to a large fire in Castaic. And then later it screamed out a Flood-O-Rama Thunderstorm in the San Gabriel mountains. For folks with small children and freakable dogs, it can be a pain, but the powers that be are working on making the defined area smaller than the whole county. For now, if it's a false alarm, just rejoice in it not being in your backyard.
BONUS TIP - ALERTS WORK BEST WITH A BUDDY RADIO
We added a bedside AM/FM radio that's pre-tuned to KNX 1070 so that we can quickly and easily check on the LOCATION of the LA County NOAA alert and if there are any evacuations for our zone. Some folks tell us they'll just use their car radio, but we'd rather stay inside (away from possible embers or earthquake hazards) and also if the alert is about the Outer Mongolia region of LA County, we plan to go back to sleep... PRUNUS J-166 Portable Radio AM FM ($10)
CARE & FEEDING of YOUR ALERT RADIO
Because we live in a canyon with hills & such, getting proper radio reception may be a challenge for some of us. To successfully receive NOAA Radio emergency alerts, setting your radio up in the right place is essential. This means two things: first that the radio gets the signal, and second that YOU can hear it.
SUCCESSFULLY SETTING UP YOUR RADIO
1-Find a good spot
—get as close to your bedroom as possible
—hit the Weather/Snooze button and listen for a strong weather report
—find the closest electrical outlet (or buy an extension cord)
—if you fail, see below
2-PLUG IT IN & keep it that way
—batteries only last 6 hours - 3 days
—6 hours in active use
—3 days in standby
3-Will it wake you up?
—it comes programmed for the "VOICE" Alert: 8 second wee-waw-wee-waw (too wimpy for our ears)
—to hear the louder "TONE" Alert (3-minute wake the dead siren) see "Alert Test" in manual, pg 6
—need it louder like us? switch to "TONE": see manual pg 5
—Bill & I switched to the "TONE" siren since our radio was far away from our bedroom
—the VOICE siren is immediately followed by the current 3-minute weather broadcast - which we could not understand from afar
—once alerted & awake, we can hit Weather/Snooze to silence the siren and then again to hear the current emergency broadcast
—you can also add on "pillow shakers" that are available free from the county: contact Canyon Sages, or Megan Currier (Fire Dept Liaison)
4-Confirm it's working
—every Sunday check to see if it's flashing & beeping every ten minutes
—this may happen as early as Saturday afternoon
—if it is flashing and beeping, then it is telling you it FAILED the Wednesday weekly signal test
—this means find a place with better reception or add an antenna
—to make the flashing and beeping stop, look on the side and turn it Off/On
—per Midland: https://midlandusa.com/blogs/blog/wr120-weather-radio-led-lights-flashing
NOTE
sometimes the NWS peeps are busy and they neglect to send the weekly test message and THAT is the cause, so if your radio has been OK before this, you don't need to try for better reception, but you still need to reset it to stop the beep fest
5-LONG TERM
—once a year, replace the batteries
—dusting, while optional, sends a subtle message of emergency superiority
Because we live in a canyon with hills & such, getting proper radio reception may be a challenge for some of us. To successfully receive NOAA Radio emergency alerts, setting your radio up in the right place is essential. This means two things: first that the radio gets the signal, and second that YOU can hear it.
SUCCESSFULLY SETTING UP YOUR RADIO
1-Find a good spot
—get as close to your bedroom as possible
—hit the Weather/Snooze button and listen for a strong weather report
—find the closest electrical outlet (or buy an extension cord)
—if you fail, see below
2-PLUG IT IN & keep it that way
—batteries only last 6 hours - 3 days
—6 hours in active use
—3 days in standby
3-Will it wake you up?
—it comes programmed for the "VOICE" Alert: 8 second wee-waw-wee-waw (too wimpy for our ears)
—to hear the louder "TONE" Alert (3-minute wake the dead siren) see "Alert Test" in manual, pg 6
—need it louder like us? switch to "TONE": see manual pg 5
—Bill & I switched to the "TONE" siren since our radio was far away from our bedroom
—the VOICE siren is immediately followed by the current 3-minute weather broadcast - which we could not understand from afar
—once alerted & awake, we can hit Weather/Snooze to silence the siren and then again to hear the current emergency broadcast
—you can also add on "pillow shakers" that are available free from the county: contact Canyon Sages, or Megan Currier (Fire Dept Liaison)
4-Confirm it's working
—every Sunday check to see if it's flashing & beeping every ten minutes
—this may happen as early as Saturday afternoon
—if it is flashing and beeping, then it is telling you it FAILED the Wednesday weekly signal test
—this means find a place with better reception or add an antenna
—to make the flashing and beeping stop, look on the side and turn it Off/On
—per Midland: https://midlandusa.com/blogs/blog/wr120-weather-radio-led-lights-flashing
NOTE
sometimes the NWS peeps are busy and they neglect to send the weekly test message and THAT is the cause, so if your radio has been OK before this, you don't need to try for better reception, but you still need to reset it to stop the beep fest
5-LONG TERM
—once a year, replace the batteries
—dusting, while optional, sends a subtle message of emergency superiority
PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO
1-If you got a free one at a giveaway event
—it should be all programmed and ready to go once you insert batteries & plug it in
—maybe change the Alert Type from "VOICE" to "TONE" (louder & longer): see manual pg 5
—if you're a perfectionist who also wants the time set, see manual pg 1
2-If you bought your own Radio
—see the manual for programming
—for "CHANNEL", Topanga & Calabasas work best with Channel 7
—Malibu and Palisades might be best using Channel 7 or 4
HAVING PROBLEMS?
—you can add an antenna
—We bought one you can try before you buy your own (antennas often don't solve the problem)
Midland 18-259W Through Window Mount Weather Band Antenna ($25)
—if NOTHING works, we have a nerdy solution: get a Power-Outage Blackout Alarm*.
—you can add an antenna
—We bought one you can try before you buy your own (antennas often don't solve the problem)
Midland 18-259W Through Window Mount Weather Band Antenna ($25)
—if NOTHING works, we have a nerdy solution: get a Power-Outage Blackout Alarm*.
WHAT THE FREE COUNTY RADIO DOES NOT DO
It does NOT get AM/FM stations. And it CANNOT be used to call anyone else. It lives and breathes just TO WAKE US UP in an emergency. But what about the weather report, you ask. Or the message that comes in with an alert? Well, it does have some info that comes in with the alert, but it's not the most useful source of local, detailed information, in our opinion.
*POWER OUTAGE BLACKOUT ALARM
—in wild and wooly Topanga and some parts of Malibu, a middle of the night power-outage may be the first sign of disaster. And if other parts of our safety net fail, it may be all that wakes us up
—we found the *cutest* little gadget that just plugs into an electrical outlet near our bed
—if the power fails, it screams out just like a smoke alarm
Power Fail Light W/Alarm by Reliance Controls ($20)