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Emergency and Alerts: AlertSF, ReadySF and NERT Training

How to get AlertSF emergency texts, where the city's ReadySF guidance lives, earthquake and tsunami basics, and free NERT training in San Francisco.

The sun low over the ocean with rocks near Sutro Baths.
Illustrative stock photo, not specific to this page.

AlertSF is San Francisco’s official emergency text alert system. Text your ZIP code to 888-777 or sign up at AlertSF.org.

The city’s ReadySF page, run by the Department of Emergency Management, is where its preparedness guidance lives.

Read on sf.gov and sf-fire.org, 27 October 2026.

888-777Text your ZIP code for AlertSF
5Steps in the city’s get-ready guide
20 secShaking that is a natural tsunami warning
24 hrsNERT Basic Training

AlertSF

You can register more than one ZIP code, such as home, school and work. The city says AlertSF sends notices about emergencies such as earthquakes, fires, flooding and major power outages. Wireless Emergency Alerts also reach phones in affected areas without signing up.

Get Ready: The City’s Five Steps

  1. 1Sign upfor AlertSF.
  2. 2Make a planas the city describes on ReadySF.
  3. 3Gather suppliesper the city’s guide.
  4. 4Get connectedto neighbors and information.
  5. 5Get trainedsee NERT below.

Earthquakes and Tsunamis

The city’s guidance is to drop, cover and hold on, to know where your gas main is and how to shut it off, and to secure heavy items. For tsunamis, strong shaking lasting 20 seconds or more, a loud roar from the ocean or the sea pulling far back are natural warnings; move inland and to higher ground right away. The city’s Tsunami Hazard Zone Map shows the zones.

NERT

The San Francisco Fire Department runs the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, a free, community-based training program. Basic Training is six sessions of four hours, 24 hours in all, for anyone who lives or works in San Francisco. Contact sffdnert@sfgov.org or (415) 970-2024. The city also lists free and low-cost preparedness trainings, including a Spanish-language LISTOS program and 90-minute SF Ready workshops.

Visitors: see Safety and Practical Tips.

Related

SF 311Report a problem or ask the city.Getting Around and ParkingMuni passes, free Muni, permits.Parks and RecreationRec and Park by the numbers.Open DataDataSF and the 41 neighborhoods.

What We Could Not Confirm

  • Which languages AlertSF sends alerts in.
  • The earthquake hazard zone map location.
  • The outdoor warning sirens: the city’s only page we found, dated 2023, says they were taken offline in 2019 and lists no test schedule, so we print no test day or time.
  • The name SF72: sf72.org now goes to ReadySF, which does not use that name, so we do not use it.

Questions People Ask

How do I sign up for AlertSF?

Text your ZIP code to 888-777 or sign up at AlertSF.org.

Is NERT free?

Yes, the fire department calls it a free training program.

Sources

  1. City of San Francisco, ReadySF: https://www.sf.gov/readysf (read 27 October 2026)
  2. City of San Francisco, Sign up for AlertSF: https://www.sf.gov/sign-up-for-alertsf (read 27 October 2026)
  3. City of San Francisco, How to get ready: https://www.sf.gov/how-to-get-ready-for-emergencies-in-san-francisco (read 27 October 2026)
  4. City of San Francisco, Earthquakes: https://www.sf.gov/earthquake (read 27 October 2026)
  5. City of San Francisco, Tsunamis: https://www.sf.gov/tsunamis (read 27 October 2026)
  6. San Francisco Fire Department, NERT: https://sf-fire.org/nert (read 27 October 2026)
  7. City of San Francisco, Free and low-cost preparedness trainings: https://www.sf.gov/get-trained-san-franciscos-free-and-low-cost-disaster-preparedness-trainings (read 27 October 2026)

Cite this page: Project SF, “Emergency and Alerts: AlertSF, ReadySF and NERT Training”, projectsf.com/living/emergency-and-alerts/ (updated ).