What is i-Alert?

i-Alert is a mass notification system designed to keep Irvine residents and businesses informed of emergencies. By registering with i-Alert, time-sensitive voice messages from the City of Irvine may be sent to your home, mobile, or business phone. Text messages may also be sent to mobile phones, e-mail accounts, and hearing impaired receiving devices. 

Public mass notification systems have become a critical component of emergency preparation and response. Residents can prepare to be notified of emergencies by providing their landline phones, mobile phones, and e-mail addresses online using the i-Alert button on their City of Irvine i-Alert self-subscription Web portal.

(click the button to  to register for the web portal)

Public Safety Officials utilize the system to rapidly send out messages when there is a perceived, emerging, or imminent situation that may require community action. Based on the severity of the event, i-Alert may be used to contact residents by one or all of the following methods:

• Home phone
• Work phone
• Mobile phone
• e-mail
• Text (SMS) message

Mass notification systems have been credited with saving lives during the 2007 Southern California wildfires by quickly notifying residents of evacuation instructions at all hours.

• For details on how the i-Alert system works and when it will be used, please view the Frequently Asked Questions section.
• Only authorized public safety officials are allowed access into the system; however, if you would like to know how we keep your information secure, visit our Privacy Policy page.

How Does it Work?

i-Alert has significant capacity to send large volumes of messsages through phone, e-mail and text communication channels.  When there is an emergency event requiring communication action, authorized officials record a voice, e-mail, or text message that is then delievered quickly to individuals impacted by the event.

Example: A wildfire event triggers an evacuation notice. Officials will use the system to keep citizens residing or working in affected areas informed of critical information as necessary.

The system uses the AT&T 9-1-1 emergency database to contact Irvine residents and businesses. Since there are many instances when the public may not be at home to receive an emergency message, it is critical that residents and businesses provide additional contact information by voluntarily registering mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and pager numbers through the i-Alert self subscription web portal.