City of Los Angeles Adds NotifyLA Upgrade

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The City of Los Angeles said its NotifyLA emergency alert system will be upgraded by Pasadena-based technology firm Everbridge Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG). With a city population of approximately 4 million residents, the third most populous city in North America, NotifyLA is Los Angeles’ official source for critical information about emergencies and city services.

“We have a commitment to ensure public safety, community awareness and emergency response,” said Kate Hutton, Public Information Officer with the Los Angeles Emergency Management Department. 

“When critical information and public service announcements are required, we need to reach our residents as quickly and reliably as possible. The NotifyLA system, now powered by Everbridge, allows the city to disseminate this information across all types of devices, ensuring that residents have access to real-time public information when they need it the most.” 

Among the many new features added to the system is a more robust Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) capability, supported by Everbridge. WEA is a federal system that can loudly buzz and message every mobile phone within range of the city’s cell towers, whether or not those phones are enrolled in the NotifyLA program. 

During flash floods and mudslides impacting Southern California, Los Angeles used WEA to notify residents in the path of the powerful storms. The new enhancements give the city more control over testing, targeting, and deploying the alerts for future incidents, including earthquakes and wildfires.

The upgrade leveraging Everbridge Mass Notification also gives Los Angeles the ability to create Incident Zones, which provide instant alerts to people who enter an active area where a critical event is currently underway. If a beach area is experiencing dangerous rip tides, for example, geo-targeted alerts can be activated for the duration of the hazardous conditions and sent to people as they enter that zone. Alternatively, if there is a hazardous spill on a roadway, instructions can be sent directly to mobile devices approaching the scene until the situation is resolved.

September 27, 2019

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