Emergency alerts

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The city website is the central location for all city department information and programs. The City of Menlo Park follows its Emergency Operations Plan(PDF, 1MB) during emergency situations.

Alerts and notifications

Residents can sign up for the following notification services to receive critical information on emergencies, city news, non-emergency updates and preparedness:

Type/method Sign-up links
Emergency alerts via email, text and voice calls sent through San Mateo County Alert (SMC Alert)
menlopark.gov/SMCAlert

City news / non-emergency updates and preparedness messages via email, text and social media

menlopark.gov/subscribe

menlopark.gov/socialmedia

SMC Alert

The City of Menlo Park uses the SMC Alert notification service to send residents and businesses critical information about our community, such as emergency notifications to include:
  • natural disasters
  • hazards
  • road closures
  • utility problems
  • missing child
  • at-risk missing adults

In an effort to update and have the most accurate information in our system, we invite you to participate in this emergency notification service and/or update your information. When you sign up with SMC Alert, we can reach you by phone, text or email within minutes. Participation is free and completely voluntary.

We know your personal information is confidential, and we will not share it with anyone. The City of Menlo Park utilizes the SMC Alert service for emergency and outreach purposes only.

Residents without computer access

For residents who do not have access to a computer, they can visit either of the Menlo Park libraries and access dedicated library computers, which can take them to the city website and provide free internet access.

Call blocking

Residents or businesses with call blocking service can make certain they receive notifications by adding 650-330-6300 to their approved number list.

Disclaimer

SMC Alert does not sell, lease, share, or rent personal identification information (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) to any companies or persons outside of SMC Alert. The information will be accessed by the City of Menlo Park only for purposes of community alerts or notifications.

Additional alerting tools

Additional alerting tools such as WEA, EAS, NOAA Weather Radio broadcast alerts and social media will also be used to notify you in the event of a large-scale emergency evacuation.

Social media

The City uses Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor and Instagram as ways of disseminating and receiving non-emergency and emergency information. While each of these platforms are useful for sharing current events, newsworthy items or social information, in the event of an emergency, Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor have proven to be useful sources of additional emergency communications. These three platforms provide for two-way communication between residents and city staff.

Check out all of the City of Menlo Park’s social media channels. You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and view photos/messages on Instagram, among others.

We also encourage you to communicate with your neighbors utilizing Nextdoor, which is a free private social network for your neighborhood. 

NOTE: Nextdoor's policies and terms of service limit what conversations and threads that we, as a public agency and its employees, can see. We can only read your replies to our posts and private messages that you send to us. We cannot see conversations you and your neighbors are having on your Nextdoor neighborhood sites.