The best time to prepare for any potential disaster is now, not when the lights go out, or emergency managers are issuing evacuation orders.
To prepare for possible evacuations, emergency managers have carved the Peninsula into more than 300 zones on an online, publicly available map supported by Zonehaven, a California-based company under contract with the County of San Mateo.
Each zone is assigned a short code. All residents can enter an address to find their zone.
In an emergency, first responders will issue evacuation or other orders and advisories based on the zones. This information will be pushed out via the news media, social media such as Twitter, emergency alert notifications, and other platforms.
Sign up for SMC Alert to receive emergency notifications.
