# Alert San Diego > Official emergency alerts, preparedness, and recovery information for San Diego County. (iPhone/iPad app by County of San Diego.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alert-san-diego/id561733287 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [County of San Diego](https://appshunter.io/developer/561734090) - Category: Reference, News - Price: Free - Rating: 3.10/5 from 92 App Store ratings · 72 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 16.6 · 3 MB - Languages: American English, European Spanish, Filipino - Released: 2012-09-21 - Data updated: 2026-08-21 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alert-san-diego/id561733287/reviews.md ## What is Alert San Diego? Formerly SD Emergency. Official emergency information and alerts for San Diego County. Be prepared for any emergency with the new Alert San Diego app, the official mobile companion to AlertSanDiego.org. Developed by the County of San Diego's Office of Emergency Services, this app is your all-in-one tool for emergency, preparedness, and recovery information, with official information from public officials. Key features • Targeted emergency alerts: Sign up for call, text, or email alerts for threats impacting your registered location, such as your home, workplace, or family address. • Push Notifications: Allow push notifications to get notified of new emergencies and important updates. • Live emergency map: View an interactive map with near real-time updates on active emergencies, including evacuation zones, shelters, road closures, and localized hazards. • Preparedness Information: Learn how to create a Personal Disaster Plan and an Emergency Kit to ensure you and your family are prepared for any emergency. • Recovery resources: After a major disaster, find vital information and resources to help you and your family recover. • Accessible updates: Receive emergency updates in accessible formats, including American Sign Language (ASL) videos with accompanying English voice and text. Important: Register your cell phone number to receive targeted phone, text, and email alerts from the emergency notification system in your registered area. Your registration is confidential and used only for emergency purposes. Download the Alert San Diego app today and stay informed, prepared, and safe. ## Key features - Targeted emergency alerts (call, text, email) - Push notifications for updates - Live emergency map with real-time data - Preparedness information and guides - Recovery resources after disasters - Accessible updates with ASL videos ## What do users think of Alert San Diego? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 👍 Good emergency information source - 🗺️ Helpful maps available - 🔔 Customizable notifications - ✅ Useful preparedness checklists - 💡 Great idea for an app **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent false alarms - 🐌 Slow information updates - ❌ Poor user interface - 🪲 Data not transferred from old app - 🚫 App freezes or crashes - ❓ Confusing UX - 🔗 Broken links in content - 🔇 Unhelpful notifications - 📱 No iPad version - 💻 App feels like a web browser **Commonly reported bugs** - App freezes on welcome splash screen or update prompts - Data not transferred from the old app - False earthquake alarms with incorrect location/distance - Disappearing notifications that don't appear in Disaster Info - App freezes on update screen - Interactive map feature is gone or inaccessible - Broken links in preparedness section - Videos have no sound and app crashes - App doesn't install on certain iOS versions - Junk notifications that are not true emergencies - Notification sound is too similar to smoke alarm - Emergency map goes to an ESRI login page - Map shows only one row of text - App doesn't open or shows error messages - Alert information is delayed or outdated - App gets stuck configuring or downloading data - Amber Alert sound cannot be disabled - Map shows icons but no useful information - Alerts are hours late or do not appear on the correct day - Discrepancy in news updates between iPhone and iPad - Cannot find notifications within the app - Map is unusable or pop-ups are off-screen - App overwrites existing emergency plans when importing new ones **Most requested features** - Make app compatible with iPad - Improve user interface for better usability - Ensure data transfer from old app - Fix bugs causing app freezes and crashes - Improve map functionality and accuracy - Provide more timely information updates - Filter notifications to only include true emergencies - Allow users to customize notification sounds - Integrate with Google Maps for dynamic interface - Add live streams of fire dispatch - Make preparedness section more robust with fewer broken links - Ensure app is not in beta state for critical features ## Recent user reviews (10 of 72) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alert-san-diego/id561733287/reviews.md ### 3/5 — No iPad version? *2025-10-26, version 9.0.1* If this is the new version ya would think that they could make an iPhone and an iPad version instead of just an iPhone sizedmone. ### 5/5 — Old reviews *2025-10-25, version 9.0.1* Please update your reviews. ### 2/5 — Poor User Interface, didn’t keep my data from old app *2025-10-24, version 9.0.1* The designers don’t seem to know that when you pressing an area on the screen, that’s actually what you want to do. If you press the tiny dash (-) to close a section of the kit, and you only manage to get 47 percent of the dash pixels under your finger, the section stays expanded. Program this app for user friendliness in the real world! If we truly have an emergency, we don’t need to be focusing on keyboarding techniques. Also, none of the data I entered for the old app was transferred, so I have to redo the all the kit information - and they wonder why people aren’t prepared… ### 3/5 — Overall good app, DO NOT send alerts for app updates! *2025-10-24, version 9.0.1* Just got an alert from the app and thought there must be a fire near me. Checked the app and there were NO EMERGENCIES in the entire county. Only news was an app update. DO NOT SEND ALERTS FOR APP UPDATES - that's just dumb. ### 1/5 — Liked the old app better *2025-10-24, version 9.0.1* I liked the old “SD Emergency” app better, had much more information and functionality. It was actually an app, as where this new one is clearly just a web browser pointing to alertSanDiego.com Oh and thanks for renaming it BTW, gave me a bit of paranoia for a second wondering how the city managed to push an app to my phone without my permission. And what was the part on the welcome splash screen about all this new functionality that ISNT THERE, like live streams of fire dispatch. ### 5/5 — Nobody uses because… *2025-09-18, version 8.6.3* I’m reviewing this emergency app because these are very outdated reviews. I mean over 10 years ago?? Well it’s 2025 September and I downloaded it to my newer iPhone running updates IOS! Lots of info and didn’t have a terrible time loading any info. A lot of important information is in this app! Plus earthquake preparedness and the maps are great (USGS)! Straight forward app, & isn’t horrible in any way. We all need to remember it’s all about being prepared,& having a few options. This app is a one part of a larger disaster preparedness tool kit (go bag, water, food, pet food, batteries, medicine, blankets, flashlights etc) we all should have! ### 2/5 — Disappearing notifications *2025-01-22, version 8.6.3* The app seems to give me loud, annoying notifications, which show very little text on the Lock Screen. If I tap on them there, they often don’t appear in the Disaster Info, so I never know what they were about. I have Location Services set to share my location with the app Always. I suspect that the app filters messages not applicable to my location out of Disaster Info, but the developer forgot to apply that filter to Notifications. ### 1/5 — False alarms *2024-10-06, version 8.6.3* This app woke up our house in the middle of the night just now with an earthquake it claimed was 1 mile away but was actually 808 miles away, not even close to San Diego. It rated the distant earthquake as “weak” as it blasted our home with full-volume air-raid style alarms, red emergency screens, and a map showing us and the earthquake in literally different states. Then after a hot minute, it realized the earthquake is 808 away, not 1 mile away as it first assumed, and cancelled the alert. The app clearly has a bug that incorrectly calculates the initial location and distance of an earthquake, causing it to report events that are (1) not close to us and (2) not even close to San Diego. This isn’t the first time this has happened with this app; therefore, we’re deleting it. We don’t want to get woken by false alarms. ### 5/5 — A Must For SoCal Residents *2024-08-11, version 8.6.3* Great app! Despite several critics’ reviews below (dating as far back as 6 years), notifications can be personally tailored and are limited to providing helpful information during fires, dangerous heatwaves, and the like. It also is a one-stop repository for disaster preparedness—what to do in an earthquake, fire, tsunami, etc.—and provides up-to-the-minute instructions straight from the source regarding evacuation orders and routes, including maps. Highly recommend for anyone not wanting to wait for the news to learn of a potentially catastrophic event! ### 1/5 — Locked up *2024-05-22, version 8.6.3* Yes, super not helpful…get a notice about a fire nearby and when I open to look??? A notice about getting signed up for earthquake notifications….and it just won’t go away!!!! Deleted and reloaded, tried providing access, still ended up with that notice blocking all access…whomever designed that, now is you microsecond of fame…. Please, for our safety, put your marketing geeks on a leash!!! The government REALLY IS INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHERE WE ARE EVERY MINUTE…but this is offensive and dangerous. ## Frequently asked questions about Alert San Diego ### What does the Alert San Diego app do? The Alert San Diego app provides official emergency information and alerts specifically for San Diego County. It helps users stay informed about potential threats, access preparedness resources, and find recovery information following a disaster. ### How do I receive emergency alerts? You can receive targeted emergency alerts via call, text, or email by registering your cell phone number within the app. Push notifications are also enabled to alert you of new emergencies and important updates. ### Is the Alert San Diego app free to use? Yes, the Alert San Diego app is completely free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements associated with the application. ### What kind of preparedness information is available? The app offers guidance on creating a Personal Disaster Plan and assembling an Emergency Kit. This information is designed to help individuals and families prepare for various emergency scenarios. ### What information is shown on the live emergency map? The live emergency map provides near real-time updates on active emergencies. This includes details on evacuation zones, available shelters, road closures, and localized hazards impacting the San Diego County area. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 9.0.2 — 2026-02-10 Bug fixes and updated age rating ### 9.0.1 — 2025-10-22 New Alert San Diego app, the official mobile companion to AlertSanDiego.org ### 8.6.3 — 2024-05-02 Bug fixes and performance improvements. ### 8.6.1 — 2024-02-13 Bug fixes. ### 8.6.0 — 2024-01-30 Emergency bug fix for "Shelters" and "Local Assistance Centers" pages. They now redirect to the Emergency Map, which contains the same information. ## Apps similar to Alert San Diego | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [EDCO Waste and Recycling](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/edco-waste-and-recycling/id1620589017) | 2.1 (8) | Free | Reference | | [SDPL to Go 2.0](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdpl-to-go-20/id1025094631) | 2.9 (38) | Free | Reference | | [Clean & Safe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clean-and-safe/id1503993882) | 4.4 (7) | Free | Reference | ## More apps by County of San Diego - [Tell Us Now!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tell-us-now/id1142315272) - [SD Food Info](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sd-food-info/id1434099661) - [SDCL](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdcl/id1568549261) - [SDAPCD Air Quality Complaints](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdapcd-air-quality-complaints/id1598865849) - [SD Getting To Zero](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sd-getting-to-zero/id6451212977) All apps by County of San Diego: https://appshunter.io/developer/561734090 ## Related topics [alert san diego](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/alert-san-diego) · [alertsandiego](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/alertsandiego) · [san diego fire](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/san-diego-fire) · [san diego library](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/san-diego-library) · [alerts by sdge](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/alerts-by-sdge) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-21.*