Nearly 50,000 Californians signed up for life-saving emergency alerts
SACRAMENTO – Proactively working to protect Californians from flooding and extreme weather impacts, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) today announced the completion of its people-powered phone banking effort of calling more than 2 million California households.
Through Listos California, a program Cal OES, the state mobilized teams of community members to make personalized, unique phone calls, which lead to more than 48,000 Californians signing up for local emergency alerts and receiving emergency preparedness tips.
“As our climate changes, leading to more extreme and complex natural disasters, Californians must understand their disaster risk and take steps to prepare themselves,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “This initiative is another innovative and unique way to help ensure families have the resources they need to stay safe.”
Modeled after a campaign-style “Get Out the Vote” effort, this eight-week program ensured Californians in disaster-risk counties received information and resources in English, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Mandarin, depending on their language.
The calls to Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Bernardino, Inyo, Mono, San Joaquin and Tulare counties included flood awareness and preparedness information, while encouraging residents to sign up for local emergency notifications and offering suggestions on how best to prepare for, respond to and recover from flooding should it be necessary.
“We are extremely pleased with the results of the Listos California campaign and grateful for the work the team has done in Kings County,” said Kings County OES Manager Abraham Valencia. “Our partnership has proven valuable in helping us to educate and inform our communities at risk of flooding. This campaign has made a positive impact not only during this flood, but for emergencies to come.”
“Tulare County was hit hard with flooding this year and we appreciate the partnership with Listos California to execute this campaign in helping to get our residents connected to resources and prepared for any future emergencies,” said Tulare County Administrative Officer Jason Britt.
When reached by telephone, Californians spoke directly to someone who clearly identified themselves and stated the purpose of the call. There was no charge to the individual for recommended services and there are strict measures in place to ensure confidentiality of personal information gathered.
County Breakdown
Calls made to Californians residing in Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, and Tulare counties resulted in over 48,000 households reached.
| County | Number of Conversations | Number of Signups | Link to Register for Alerts |
| Fresno | 7,646 | 3,448 | Notify Fresno County |
| Inyo | 543 | 265 | Ready Inyo |
| Kern | 12,004 | 5,816 | Ready Kern |
| Kings | 1,615 | 723 | KC Alert |
| Madera | 2,382 | 893 | MC Alert |
| Mariposa | 1,190 | 477 | MSO Alert |
| Merced | 2,356 | 962 | Merced County Emergency Notification System |
| Mono | 633 | 322 | Ready Mono |
| San Bernardino | 6,513 | 2,512 | Ready SB |
| San Joaquin | 5,178 | 2,735 | SJ Ready |
| Tulare | 8,675 | 4,169 | Alert TC |
| Total | 48,735 | 22,322 |
About Listos California
Listos California is part of an ongoing effort to enhance disaster preparedness by engaging a statewide network of 93 community-based organizations, including Tribal Governments, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and other partners to ensure the state’s most vulnerable are ready when disaster strikes.
In addition to these community-focused outreach events, Listos California has developed hundreds of downloadable resources in multiple languages related to disaster preparedness, response and recovery, including videos, social media graphics, flyers, one pagers and quick guides and indigenous language videos on general preparedness and flooding.