Microsoft Helps County Revamp its Emergency Website

Residents can now get critical emergency information on your computer, mobile phone or tablet using the County’s upgraded website sdcountyemergency.com, featuring technology developed in partnership with Microsoft.

The County and Microsoft collaborated to find a way to increase capacity on the site, while improving the features and functions. Microsoft offered to develop it for free, giving the company a product it can show to other jurisdictions. 

“The new state-of-the-art site allows us to get important updates to residents quickly on their computers and on their mobile devices. And, it was developed at no cost to the taxpayers,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman, Bill Horn.

The site uses cloud technology, enabling it to expand the number of users it can handle as web traffic increases 

“During the 2007 wildfires, national news outlets linked to our emergency site, which resulted in a flood of visitors and required us to purchase enough server capacity to handle increased traffic. The new site can be adjusted as needed, handling a high volume of visits without paying for storage space during non-emergency times,” said Holly Crawford, Director of the Office of Emergency.

Residents can also get information about preparedness and recovery on the site, using the tabs across the top of the page, as well as up-to-date maps, a searchable list of shelter locations and social media messages.