‘Reverse 911′: authorities can call your cell phone in emergency

FROM THE NEWS-LEDGER — DEC 28, 2011 –

By Steve Marschke
News-Ledger Editor

If you have a telephone landline in West Sacramento, you’re probably already in the city’s “Reverse 911” program. It’s part of a regional system that lets authorities reach you with a recorded message in case of a major emergency.

But those of you with cell phones can register those numbers with the system as well.

“The Reverse 911 system is intended to be used for large scale phone calling in the event of a disaster like a flood, fire or so forth,” said Sergeant Nathan Steele of the West Sacramento Police Department. “Generally speaking, most land lines in the city have been entered.”

  The system can target neighborhoods, and has been used to warn residents of a fleeing felon on the loose nearby, or to get the word out when an “at risk” person has gone missing. It could also be used to help get the word out if an evacuation is needed, automatically dialing homeowners in an affected area.

You can match your cell phone number to your address for the system by going online this link at the West Sacramento Police Department: click here.

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