Emergency Management

Emergency Partners, Centers & Collaboration

The City of Portage Emergency Management personnel work cooperatively with the Kalamazoo County Government. The City of Portage maintains an Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) that is activated by City Administration to manage the local response to a major weather event or other local disasters. The ECC is used as the backup Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Kalamazoo County as part of a cooperative effort.

Drills

City staff participate annually in several tabletop, functional, and full-scale drills to ensure operational readiness. First responders from the Portage Department of Public Safety also participate in drills sponsored by the Kalamazoo County Office of Emergency Management.

Sirens

The City of Portage maintains a system of outdoor warning sirens, which provide warning notifications in the event of a weather emergency. It is important to note that an outdoor warning system is designed to warn citizens while they are outdoors. The warning sirens are not designed to wake residents from sleep or be heard over other home activities. The warning siren system is tested on the first Saturday of every month at 1 PM, during which the sirens are sounded to ensure they are operating properly.

TV & Radio Warnings

Local media outlets such as television and radio broadcast severe weather watches and warnings. During periods of potentially severe weather, residents are advised to listen to television or radio for possible watches and warnings. Should severe weather develop, a weather alert radio will alert and wake a resident from sleep during the overnight hours, adding additional minutes of warning. The radios are available at many home improvement and retail outlets.

PortageAlert

Portage Alert is the city's mass notification service.  Sign up now to receive important emergency and public outreach information from the city such as severe weather alerts, road closures, or other emergency situations.  Once you sign up, you can manage the types of alerts you would like to receive and how you would like to receive the alerts.

Storm Ready

The City of Portage is one of less than ten Michigan communities that received certification from the National Weather Service in 2003 as a "StormReady" Community. To be recognized as StormReady, an agency must have means of receiving warning notifications, current weather status monitoring, warning dissemination capabilities, and providing public education activities.