Emergency Mass Notification System

Advances in communication technology give the crisis teams the ability to reach out to communities and rural areas using reverse phone calls and the emergency broadcast system. Traditional communication methods, such as television and radio, allows the crisis teams to distribute correct information and help reduce the effects of errors that can be communicated through news spread by word of mouth.

The current communication systems between first responders and other emergency officials have many existing problems. The first issue in communication between first responders is the inability to communicate over a completely wireless system. Wireless communication systems allow first responders to communicate, no matter the situation in which they are thrown. Communication through wireless systems are also more efficient, due to the updated technology that is used for wireless systems. First responders are also unable to communicate with exactly who they want,

Many times the local framework for support and response breaks down after major incidences (Caruson, MacManus, September 2008). The loss of electricity to some, if not all the area, for extended amount of time should be expected. This can also mean loss of communication in the form of cell phone connection, internet and land lines. Hence, MACS establishing an Emergency Operation Center (EOC) is the lynchpin in maintaining the command and control that would otherwise be lost (Walsh, Christen, Callsen, Miller, Maniscalco, Lord, & Dolan,

Communication is also very critical in the case of a catastrophic event. Thus, the first respondent need to be a good communicator for communication is an essential part in response to a catastrophic event (Pope, 2005). It is also the responsibility of the first respondent to have a practical plan to implement in case an emergency erupted following the catastrophic event. The aftermath of a catastrophic event is highly unpredictable and emergencies cannot be overlooked. It is, therefore, the

Thesis Statement: It is dangerous to have an aging, non-integrated and linked emergency alert broadcast system. Even though an integrated alert network would be expensive, it could save countless lives.

Barrett (2011) provides a list of questions to consider when developing a policy. The list includes identifying the audience, purpose, message, medium/forum, communicator, and timing. Following Barrett’s (2011) system, Draper City’s proposed Emergency Communication Policy

The Wake Forest Emergency Communications Plan (WFECP) is intended to provide information, strategies and 24-hour radio, telephone, and internet capabilities in the event of a disastrous situation. The WFECP provides clear and concise information as to what types of communication equipment is available, leadership and agency roles and alternative equipment that will be used if primary equipment is overburdened or destroyed. This plan also serves in cooperation with the North Carolina Emergency Communications Plan (ESF-2), and the FEMA’s National Emergency Communications Plan. Properly planned, established, and applied communications enable the dissemination of information among command and support elements and, as appropriate,

. My research indicates that for a lot of schools they follow the Standard Response Protocol. The Standard Response Protocol was created by the I Love U Guys Foundation. The I Love U Guys Foundation was started by Ellen and John-Michael Keyes who had “devoted their skills in design and packaging, and critical thought. Their twenty-five year professional careers proved essential building blocks for the Foundation.” The Standard Response protocol was made for “not on individual scenarios but on the response to any given situation.” It is not a computer based system, it's a protocol for administrators and staff to follow when in an emergency like an evacuation or a lockdown.On their website it is stated that “ (un)like the Incident Command System (ICS), SRP demands a specific vocabulary but also allows for great flexibility. The premise is simple - there are four specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a "Term of Art" and is then followed by a "Directive." Execution of the action is performed by active participants, including students, staff, teachers and first responders.” My app will greatly help the Standard Response Protocol to help with the response time of an emergency, the time from the start of an emergency to an end will be smaller, and it will greatly help faculty with getting the

I definitely agree that we have to also include social media outlet along with traditional media outlets with partnership with emergency mangers. It is useful to teach the public during non-disaster event how to share important information. It is also important to build a strong trust with media and EM mangers to make sure there is very little misinformation to circulate.

The people of the community rely on those emergency personnel to get them out of the hazardous situation. Like any situation, the outcomes can be positive or negative. The outcomes we are aiming for are that the public will receive all the proper information and are familiar with the plan of action. However, this leaves a lot of room for miscommunication. If too many people get involved with trying to relay information, the message could get misconstrued. That is why it is important to make sure everyone on the emergency team is aware of their duties and those who aren’t supposed to be giving out information do not.

Another great quality about this new alert system is that it sends instructions to the reader on how to prepare for unexpected weather conditions or a terrorist attack (Biersdorfer, 2016). Moving on, today another widely used app that can help inform the public is twitter. To better explain, according to one source, people who use “twitter” can now select the option of getting minute-to-minute updates sent straight to their phone on information on public emergency’s (Biersdorfer, 2016). All the cell phone holder has to do is select an agency, for example, the Department Homeland Security, and the Department will send them the same updated information that would be posted on the National Terrorism Advisory System (Biersdorfer,

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

Communication is widely regarded as one of the most essential elements in successfully managing an emergency situation. The dissemination of information, which is both timely as well as accurate, to the parties concerned goes a long way to lend a hand in ensuring that the recovery activities in an emergency situation, together with its management takes place effectively. For that reason, five critical assumptions are used to provide the basis of disaster management strategy.

The data collected to answer the sub-question, “What are the professor referral rates to the Early Alert System?” revealed that most of the 10 professors who answered the Literacy Support Services and Strategies used the Early Alert Service when student met the criteria requiring a “flag”, but half stated that they “never” or “almost” never use the service. This was supported when only two students responded that they had ever been “flagged” by the Early Alert Service.

This emergence of social media has also changed emergency management and disaster response. Emergency management as a whole is fairly new, only creating widely recognized, integrated emergency management systems beginning in the 1970s. Furthermore, at this same time people realized that the effects disasters have on the communities they strike can be mitigated by the creation of disaster plans ahead of time, proper disaster response training, and the efforts of human actions in these situations. Because social media has enabled mass amounts of instant information sharing, it allows not only locals and disaster response teams to help with the management of crises, but also many remote citizens.