More than 8.5 million Californians will be refilling emergency kits, ducking under tables or standing in doorways as they participate in the largest earthquake drill the world has ever seen Thursday morning, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said.The Great California ShakeOut is organized by the Earthquake Country Alliance and "continues to grow as the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history," FEMA said.
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A technology failure caused the computer system for San Francisco fire and police dispatch to shut down, forcing emergency personnel to resort to pen and paper.According to San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Andraychak, the system in which information from a 911 call is entered and transmitted to officers or firemen in the field, failed around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
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Facing a $30 million budget deficit, Caltrain is poised to declare a fiscal emergency Thursday in a procedural move that could portend more fare increases and service reductions for the troubled transit agency.By declaring a fiscal emergency, Caltrain’s board of directors could authorize plans for service reductions or fare increases without conducting a full environmental review.
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The San Francisco Police Department wants to emphasize to the public that its text-message reporting program should not be used for emergency situations.
In emergencies, residents should call 911, police said.
For non-emergency reports, the department runs a Text-a-Tip program, which it launched last August.
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Despite concerns from the civilian commission overseeing the Fire Department, the water-delivery system set to receive a major upgrade with a June bond measure will be turned over to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
The transfer will save the Fire Department money, but will put control of the system in the utility agency’s hands. Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered the transfer last week.
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Oct. 17 is among those unforgettable, infamous dates. While not as iconic or tragic as June 6, 1944, or Sept. 11, 2001, a generation of Bay Area residents will always remember what they were doing at 5:04 p.m. Oct. 17, 1989, when the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake rumbled through Northern California.
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In the event of an emergency such as a school shooting or an earthquake, parents would hope to get information from their child’s school as soon as possible.
When a former student set off pipe bombs at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo in late August, parents were notified about the incident and told where to pick up their children within minutes, according to district officials.
The messages went out by phone through a program called Blackboard Connect.
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In potentially deadly situations when every second counts, emergency responders show up to The City’s northeastern neighborhoods more than a minute earlier than those in southern areas, a new report said.
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San Mateo County may soon be a little more prepared for a major emergency.
The Sheriff’s Office has applied for a $2.5 million grant in the past from the Department of Homeland Security and received it each time.
The county already has a bevy of projects lined up to use the money, county Emergency Services Supervisor Bill O’Callahan said.
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Unless you want to experience the pandemonium of a devastating terrorist attack, you might want to steer clear of downtown San Francisco on Aug. 16.
In coordinating a simulated nuclear explosion in The City that Saturday morning, the Fire Department is warning residents that parts of downtown will swarm with helicopters, police patrols and FBI agents in ways that will make action-movie directors envious.
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