Residents will receive test alerts as the County trials a new emergency system.

Thousands of Monterey County residents can expect their mobile phones to be abuzz with emergency alert tests in the coming weeks, as the County of Monterey trials a new alert and warning system.

The Department of Emergency Management will commence a series of alert tests across select areas of the county beginning Monday, Nov. 27, and continuing through Dec. 7. They are meant to test the effectiveness of a new alert and warning system from Genasys Inc., which would replace the county’s existing alert infrastructure provided by Everbridge Inc.

The first areas to be tested will be in Moss Landing and at CSU Monterey Bay’s campus on Nov. 27, followed by areas of San Ardo and Carmel Valley on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The community of Pajaro will be next on Nov. 30, while last will be a part of the city of Monterey – south of North Fremont Street, between highways 68 and 218 – on Thursday, Dec. 7. All of the tests will commence at 10am, and will disseminate information in both English and Spanish.

The alerts will vary across the system’s capabilities, ranging from SMS text messages and desktop notifications to geo-targeted “Reverse 911” phone calls and pop-up wireless emergency alerts akin to AMBER alerts. Kelsey Scanlon, director of the Department of Emergency Management, says the tests are designed to span a range of population sizes and geographies, to help officials better understand how specifically they can target notifications – from evacuation zones spanning a few blocks to entire communities.

“We’re curious about how granular we can get,” Scanlon notes. “We have the ability to alert the entire county, that’s a no-brainer. What I’m curious about is, if I wanted to alert the community of Pajaro and not the city of Watsonville, can we conceivably do that?”

County officials say the move to a new alert system was motivated by Everbridge raising its pricing for its software, which currently costs around $90,000 annually. They note that the new Genasys system will cost no more than that and promises better functionality, including more seamless integration with the county’s online mapping system.

The public is also invited to participate in surveys that will be embedded in the alerts, to help county officials better determine the new system’s effectiveness.

To sign up, text MCTEST to 65513. For more information, visit alertmry.org/exercise