City siren will signal an emergency, need to seek information

Use the City of Berkeley's outdoor warning system - a wailing siren tone followed by a voice message - to seek emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place information on the City's emergency map and alerting systems.

The siren and voice message would signal that people nearby should take emergency protective action, which would vary depending on the emergency.

A wildfire might prompt a message to evacuate part or all of the hills. A tsunami message would direct people to get onto land, out of the Marina and away from the Bay shoreline. A different emergency might direct a particular neighborhood to shelter-in-place.

People in unaffected areas should also stay up to date with real-time emergency notifications. An evacuation for one neighborhood might require others to stay off roads. All of us play a role in an emergency.

Start now:

• Subscribe yourself and others in your household to AC Alert, a text and email alert system that can be tailored to notify you of emergencies in specific locations.

• Practice searching for your home on Berkeley's emergency map, which first responders use to give neighborhood-specific protective actions in real-time.

• Have the online map handy, bookmark it on a browser or save it to your device's home screen. You can also use the map via the Genasys Protect App, which allows you to monitor specific locations and receive real-time alerts about emergency status changes in those zones.

When you hear Berkeley's new outdoor warning system, use AC Alert and Berkeley's Emergency Map to gather more emergency information to help you take action.

Warning system flexible for a variety of disasters 

Atop buildings across Berkeley - from the Marina to the hills, from south to north - the siren system is intended to be another layer of notification, reaching people outdoors.

The goal is to amplify - and guide people to - the principal emergency tools while being flexible enough to respond to a variety of different disasters, be it a tsunami or wildfire.

These sirens were made possible by Berkeley voters' passage of Measure FF in December 2020. The siren system is tied to the PG&E grid and also has a solar-powered battery backup that can be activated by landline, cell phone, computer, or satellite.

To date, thirteen sirens have been installed around Berkeley with the fourteenth to be completed by the end of this year.

Listen to example messages if you want to get familiar with the sirens' sounds and voice messages.

Know how to evacuate safely

Knowing information is only one step. Take the required action.

For those who live near wildfire zones or in the hills, use our step-by-step Fire Weather Planning Tool as a guide. You'll document where you'll stay, who in your house needs help, creating a go-bag, and how you'll evacuate - including two routes by foot and two by car.

When the siren sounds, a plan will help you protect yourself and your household. Successful evacuation of entire neighborhoods depends on as many people as possible doing their part and following the guidance from AC Alert and Berkeley's Emergency Map.

Being prepared for the signal will help you act fast. Subscribe to AC Alert and try using Berkeley's emergency map.

Links

• Outdoor Warning System (sample alerts)

• AC Alert

• Berkeley Emergency Map (Genasys Protect App)

• Fire weather and evacuation