PALOS VERDES PENINSULA — The four cities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula May 8 launched the Know Your Zone evacuation readiness website PVPReady.gov. With the aim to prepare peninsula residents and businesses to evacuate in the event of an emergency, the site houses Zonehaven, a cloud-based evacuation platform with pre-established, peninsula-wide evacuation zone maps. The zones will also help fire, police and other emergency service agencies prepare for emergencies, streamline the evacuation process, and reduce confusion by enabling a single verified source of emergency information.
The Know Your Zone website is a collaboration between the cities of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, their public safety partners, the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Services and Genasys-owned evacuation management software platform Zonehaven.
Residents, visitors, businesses, and school communities on the peninsula should go to PVPReady.gov to find their evacuation zone, save it in their smartphone, or write it down and keep it somewhere that’s easy to find in an emergency. To find your zone, visit PVPReady.gov, click “Find Your Zone,” enter an address in the search bar in the upper left corner of the zone map, and a pop-up window will open with the corresponding zone and emergency information. During an emergency, such as a wildfire or flood, the website and corresponding alerts
will show which zones are under evacuation the moment an order is issued by authorities.
The zone map bridges an important gap between first responders and the community, providing real time information directly to residents as incidents unfold. The zone map incorporates hyperlocal knowledge to model evolving disasters and subsequent impacts on evacuation zones, traffic patterns and public safety. PVPReady.gov and the alert systems each city utilizes to notify their communities will be updated with zone-specific information, including evacuation status, live incident updates, weather, road and traffic conditions and other essential information.
In addition, PVPReady.gov provides important readiness resources to help you prepare yourself and your family for a disaster year-round. On the site, you can also sign up for Alert SouthBay, an alert system providing timely, accurate emergency and warning notifications to the communities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and greater South Bay region, depending on your subscription. Information on how to contact your respective city is also available as quick and easy access for website visitors.
As we mark Wildfire Preparedness Week in California and National Wildfire Awareness Month, the entire community is encouraged to Know Your Zone and get familiar with PVPReady.gov. In addition to home addresses, residents should know the zones of places they frequent, such as work, school, places of worship, or the homes of family and friends. No account, registration or app download is required for this easy-to-use platform, which provides critical information in multiple languages.
The L.A. County Office of Emergency Management is rolling out Zonehaven in coordination with local law enforcement, fire protection, and government agencies as a larger resource to high hazard-prone communities in the county. This platform has been utilized elsewhere in California during major wildfires and to support evacuations for active shooter and debris flow hazards across multiple jurisdictions.
PVPReady.gov will provide the peninsula with a new tool for emergency preparedness, but it will take all of us to ensure we are ready for a disaster. In addition to knowing your zone, have a plan in place for your family or business, maintain an emergency kit with essential items, medications, and important documents, and always know where to get the most updated information.
Details: PVPReady.gov