MARIN COUNTY, CA — Marin County's emergency notification system was named the county's Best Emergency Preparedness Service in the Pacific Sun's 2026 Readers' Picks.
AlertMarin, the county's primary system for sending emergency information and potentially life-saving instructions, received the honor as part of the newspaper's annual Best of Marin awards.
Around 72,000 people were registered for AlertMarin, representing about 48 percent of Marin County households with at least one subscriber, according to county officials.
"This recognition is a reflection of the community's trust in AlertMarin and the importance of staying connected during an emergency," said Nick Brubaker, chief resilience officer with the Marin County Office of Emergency Management. "We're proud of how the system has grown, and we know there is still more work to do."
The recognition came a little more than a year after the decade-old system underwent a major upgrade.
The county moved subscribers to a new platform in April 2025 that allowed users to register multiple addresses, choose a preferred language and sign up for additional types of notifications.
Those optional alerts included coastal flooding and king tides, creek and river flooding, prescribed burns, significant traffic disruptions and significant weather. They were designed for hazards that might have substantial impacts without rising to the level of a life-threatening emergency.
The upgrade also added a Spanish-language registration process and expanded options for receiving alerts in a preferred language.
County officials encouraged people who live or work in Marin to register for AlertMarin and existing subscribers to keep their addresses and contact information current.
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