Emergencies In Fairfax County: How to Stay Informed

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Seeking accurate information for what is occurring in your area is an important part of being prepared. In this video, Seamus Mooney, coordinator of emergency management for Fairfax County, explains why staying informed is so important and he touches on a few of the means of getting information before, during and after an emergency.

There are a number of sources for the most accurate emergency information including:

• Fairfax Alerts (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/alerts) provides notifications for severe weather, severe traffic, emergency events and a variety of non-emergency notices. You can receive messages via telephone, texts and email. Also, you can customize your Fairfax Alerts with the locations you wish to monitor as well as the type of advisories you wish to receive.
• The Fairfax County Emergency Information Blog (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/emergency/blog) is the main communications platform before, during and after an emergency.
• Social media accounts for Facebook (www.facebook.com/fairfaxcounty) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/fairfaxcounty) are staffed during emergencies and provide a means to interact and provide community support.
• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are emergency messages sent to your cellphone that warn of severe weather, AMBER alerts for children, and threats to safety. The messages are sent to cellphones in the area affected by the emergency.
• Local radio and television stations are provided the most current information available during times of emergency so be sure to identify those sources that may be most involved in your neighborhood.
• Other sources include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.noaa.gov) for weather and the National Terrorism Advisory System (https://www.dhs.gov/national-terrorism-advisory-system) for terrorist threats

All of the listed emergency information sources are free but they do require that you have a device to receive the messages.

Be sure to have battery back-up or other means to keep your cellphones, radios and other communication devices available. During mass power outages, information may be delivered door-to-door, through information distribution centers or at community-level evacuation shelters.

Regardless of what your information source may be, make sure that you’re tuned in for the latest in emergency information.

Learn more at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/emergency.

All information courtesy of Fairfax County; news release issued Sept. 20, 2016.

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