Safety Tips

Whether you’re here for a day or a lifetime, following are some quick safety tips to help you enjoy your stay:

• If you are hiking or bicycling, carry a cell phone and map of the area.
• For residents, discuss what you and your family would do during and immediately after a major disaster.
• Prepare a mini survival kit for your home and vehicle: https://readymarin.org/plan-prepare/
• Know how to prepare for and survive an earthquake:
  • https://www.earthquakecountry.org/prepare/
  • https://www.earthquakecountry.org/survive/

Staying safe means staying informed.

Sign up for alerts! Alert Marin allows you to receive emergency alerts from the County of Marin via call, text, or email.

Alert Marin alerts provide guidance when action is needed at a specific address or neighborhood, including information about imminent flooding, wildfires, evacuations, and public safety incidents when lives may be at risk.

Nixle – To receive informational real-time alerts and advisories from the Mill Valley Police Department and other local agencies, text the zip code(s) of where you live, work, and learn to 888-777. Nixle alerts provide information about road closures and police activity, general public safety information, and post-disaster information about shelters, transportation, and supplies.

The City of Mill Valley has also crafted emergency preparedness guides tailored for two key groups. These guides focus on potential disasters that business and organization leaders and their teams might face during working hours. They offer practical advice on preparing for and staying safe in various emergency situations.

Emergency Preparedness Guide for Business and Organization Leaders

Emergency Preparedness Guide for Employees

Print versions of these guides are available at the Chamber Office as well as City Hall (26 Corte Madera Avenue, Mill Valley 94941)

Emergency Preparedness Commission

City of Mill Valley Evacuation Map

Alerts

LRAD Emergency Sirens
Mill Valley’s sirens will broadcast alert tones and audible instructions. The LRAD sirens are located in Cascade, Blithedale and Warner Canyons, Scott Valley, and atop Mill Valley City Hall. Listen for the sirens at noon on the first Saturday of the month.

PulsePoint

Social media accounts to follow:

X/Twitter:

• @City_of_MV. City of Mill Valley General news and updates on a wide range of City issues. Traffic alerts and emergency notifications.
• @MillValleyEPC. Mill Valley Emergency Preparedness Commission – local emergency preparation tips, local updates, and safety resources.
• @SMFDinfo Southern Marin Fire District – emergency updates and emergency preparedness tips
• @MillValleyPD Mill Valley Police Department – local traffic alerts, public safety notifications, emergency notifications.

Bookmark this link:

Marin County Emergency Portal

This site provides up to date information during an emergency incident from the County of Marin Office of Emergency Services.

KNOW WHAT’S BELOW – CALL 811 BEFORE YOU DIG

Each year serves as a good reminder to everyone to call 811 a few days before digging to identify the approximate location of underground utility lines.

Every six minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811, and we at Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce do not want anyone to become part of the statistic.

Utility services that your family depends on, such as cable TV, high-speed Internet, landline telephone, electric, gas, water and sewer, are buried underground in many communities. Striking one of these lines can result in inconvenient outages for entire neighborhoods, harm to yourself or someone else, and repair costs.

When you call 811 a few days before you plan to start your project, a local one-call center representative will collect your information and notify the affected local utility companies of your intent to dig. A professional locator will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate location of all underground utility lines with paint, flags or both. Once your site has been marked, it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.

No matter the type of project – installing a mailbox, putting in a fence, planting trees or shrubbery, building a patio or deck, or excavating a new garden area – make sure to call 811 several days prior to digging to have your site properly marked, and remind our customers, as well as your friends and family, to do the same. Always call 811 before you dig and know what’s below.

Have additional questions? Email us at info@millvalley.org and we’ll get you in touch with the right person at City Hall or Marin County Government.