Update on the 211 Tsunami Debris Hotline [Statewide]

We were honored that the Governor selected 211 to be the one-stop hotline for reporting Tsunami Debris on the Oregon coast.

We have received a lot of media coverage and are thrilled to be there for Oregonians and coastal visitors who need their questions answered. As of June 2, 73 people have called us. Most of the calls have been generic questions about debris or people asking to be transferred to our state agency partners.

We activated 211 in Clatsop, Tillamook, Coos and Curry counties for this situation even though we previously had not planned on activating service for them until later in the year. Lane, Douglas and Lincoln counties, which have coastlines, had an active 211 service already.

Some of the media outlets had been reporting issues with dialing 211 but that was largely a misunderstanding. Any time we activate 211 in a new county there are technical barriers phone companies must tackle. This is the case any time a new “n11” number like 211, 511, 411, or 911 gets activated.

211 is working in the majority of the coast and phone companies have resolved all trouble tickets that were reported.

Thankfully we had the foresight and experience to know technical phone issues happen so we have a back up number, which is 1-800-SAFENET.

The public can inform us about technical issues on the 1-800-SAFENET number or by visiting the home page of our website or by clicking here our staff will collect information about the location and phone service provider so we can work to alert the phone companies of the issue.

Some of these technical issues can occur because of large companies and buildings such as hotels or hospitals that often have internal phone systems (which is why you have to dial “9” to reach outside numbers.) N11s may need to be activated individually in each of these systems.

House Bill 3375, which was passed in May 2011, mandates that phone companies activate 211 upon request.

We are excited about the opportunity to serve more and more people in a multitude of ways. General Mike Caldwell, who was appointed as head of the Governor’s Task Force on Tsunami Debris cleanup last week, has said: “The possible tsunami debris washing up on our shores may continue for months or even years. We know that the 211 service is going to be very helpful in reporting and tracking this debris.”