DEM Watch Center and Emergency Operations Center

DEM's emergency operations monitor city events and manage emergency resources to match the scale of the incident.

Emergency Operation Center

The Mission of the San Francisco EOC is to minimize the impact of emergencies and disasters on the community through coordinated planning, information-sharing and resource management between all City departments, partnering agencies and the public.

The Emergency Operation Center is manned 24/7/365 for the city of San Francisco.  There are 3 levels of the EOC.

Level 3 - Watch Center; Monitoring, daily

Level 2 - Partial w/ 1st Response; Elements & Support; As Needed (ie; New Year's Eve)

Level 1 - Full Activation;  All Sections and Positions;  As Needed (ie; COVID-19)

Watch Center

The DEM Watch Center’s role is to act as the central information hub for citywide emergency communications and notifications. The Watch Center serves as a “one-stop” resource for emergency management, public safety, and key stakeholders throughout the city. The Watch Center strives to be the ‘leader’ of emergency management activities and  acts as the center of de-confliction for the city, it consumes information from a variety of sources and creates an all-hazards picture for their stakeholders through the creation of a common operating picture so the right people have the right information to make the right decision.  

Sign Up for Alerts

SFDEM uses multiple platforms to provide electronic public alerts.

AlertSF 

Sign up for alerts regarding emergencies disrupting vehicular/pedestrian traffic, watches and warnings for tsunamis, flooding, and Citywide post-disaster information to your registered wireless devices, email accounts and phone numbers.

Wireless Emergency Alerts

WEAs are used to send concise, text-like messages to WEA-capable mobile devices during emergency situations. WEAs are sent by your state and local public safety officials, the National Weather Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the President of the United States.

Twitter:

@SF_Emergency, the Department of Emergency Management’s official Twitter account for emergency public information. In general we provide information on 1) what to do (e.g., avoid the area); and 2) what geographic area is impacted; and 3) whether the incident is related law enforcement, fire, transit, or traffic.

Resources

National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey Forecast - Weather reports for San Francisco
AirNow Air quality reports
Cal Fire Info page for Wildland Fires 
511 Traffic info 
PG&E outage  Outage map for PG&E
SF311  Non-emergency matters

Last updated November 17, 2022