Los Angeles County launches emergency notification system

Los Angeles County launched a new emergency notification system Thursday.

Alert LA County, similar to reverse 911 systems in some Southland cities, will automatically call residents and businesses in areas facing an emergency, such as a natural disaster or evacuation.

The county already has a television and radio emergency notification system, but the new system is expected to be quicker and more targeted. It includes 7.1 million listed and unlisted land-line phone numbers gathered from local telephone companies, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. The system covers both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county.

“It’s geared to give you that info before broadcast news gets to you or you have a marked unit coming down your street,” said John Fernandes, the county’s emergency management director.

If the number is busy or does not answer, the system will redial. If it reaches an answering machine, the system leaves a message.

As of today, county residents and business owners also can add their cellphone, fax and voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, numbers, as well as their e-mail addresses, to the system via a county Web page.

“We have to ensure that we have state-of-the-art technology to give as much notice as soon as we can,” Fernandes said.

The system will cost the county $1.9 million for the next five years, Fernandes said.

The city of Los Angeles already has an emergency notification system for residents living in fire-prone, red-flag areas, but city officials will be able to access the countywide system too.

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molly.hennessy-fiske @latimes.com