EVACUATION PLANNING
Evacuations can be extremely stressful. Planning in advance for evacuations and knowing what to expect will help reduce stress.
During disasters normal reference points such as street signs and address markers may not be available, therefore Riverside County has adopted the US National Grid (USNG) for use during evacutions and disasters. The USNG standard provides a nationally consistent language of location that has been optimized for local applications. Generally, Riverside County public safety agencies use grids at the 1000 meter level.
For more information on US National Grid maps, click here.
An important step in your preparedness should be enrolling with Alert RivCo. This is one of the systems that Riverside County public safety agencies use to alert the public in the event of an emergency. For more information or to enroll, go to www.RivCoReady.org/AlertRivCo.

EVACUATION TERMINOLOGY
Riverside County public safety agencies have adopted standardized terminology for evacuations, based on recommendations from the State. If you receive an evacuation message, it will use terms below. It's important to know what the terms mean before an emergency. As always, we recommend you plan and prepare for emergencies and evacuations now, before they happen.
Evacuation Order:
Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access.
Evacuation Warning:
Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.
Shelter in Place:
Go indoors. Shut and lock doors and windows. Prepare to self-sustain until further notice and/or contacted by emergency personnel for additional direction.