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LAPAC calls for better emergency notification: NOAA transmitter, neighborhood assistance lists and multiple communication methods
Summary
Members recommended installing a NOAA weather radio transmitter for South County, hardening communications infrastructure, maintaining lists of residents needing evacuation assistance (with privacy safeguards), and expanding multi-channel notifications and neighborhood-based support during evacuations.
A staff member and committee members urged the county to address gaps in emergency notification and evacuation assistance, noting South County lacks a NOAA weather radio transmitter. "There's no transmitter in the South County," a staff member said, describing coverage gaps around Mount Saint Helena and Middletown that limit radio emergency broadcasts.
Members also recommended building carefully managed lists of residents who may need assistance during evacuations, while noting HIPAA and privacy issues. Neighborhood-level approaches and existing senior-center networks were suggested as practical ways to reach vulnerable residents. The group emphasized multi-channel redundancy — hardened towers, backup power and community resilience centers — to ensure communication during extended outages.
