EarlySave Disaster Alert

About

Getting the public to help those who need it before a disaster strikes.

The challenge: How do you optimize the effectiveness of broadcasting disaster alerts to cell phones when many people may not get the message because, for example, they are not near their phones, or their phones may be off or out of battery power?

EchoAlert EarlySave (EAES) offers the solution that works. Using EAES, once a broadcast is issued to cell phones by a text broadcast service, users are requested to acknowledge they got the message by replying to the alert message with any message at all, or even a blank message. For those who fail to do so within a pre-set time period, their key contacts (i.e. next-of-kin) can be notified right away to try contacting these people in other ways or to check in on them before the disaster strikes.

EAES makes the public the first line of defense for protecting itself, and capitalizes on the fact that the people who may know best how to reach people who may not have been warned can do so quickly and effectively.

How It Works:

EchoAlert EarlySave is a patent pending mobile phone disaster alert system, which detects people who may require assistance and notifies friends and family to take action before the disaster strikes.

When a disaster alert is broadcast to cell phones via text message, the EA system requests that all who receive it acknowledge the alert. If anyone fails to respond, using a simple message response, their pre-chosen contacts (e.g. family or workplace) can be automatically and immediately alerted to the need to check up on them before disaster strikes.


Further Detail

1. The public is invited to register their phone numbers and their key emergency contacts to be notified in the event of emergency, all via a simple, Internet-based form.
2. If a disaster warning needs to be issued, the affected public is notified via text message with instructions.
3. All who receive the disaster alert are asked to reply to the alert with a simple message (e.g. '1', or 'ok') to acknowledge receipt of the message.
4. If no acknowledgement is received, a second alert may be issued, again asking for acknowledgement.
5. If no acknowledgement is received, the receiver's key contact(s) can be immediately notified via email and text message to make sure the first person is safe, before the disaster hits. The message may recommend some courses of action as well (call other numbers, call neighbors, friends, etc.)

Web Interface
EchoAlert's Early Save alert system is supported by a simple web site where people can fill in 4-6 fields (i.e. my name, my cell phone number, my emergency contact's email address and cell phone number, with up to 2 emergency contacts).

Text Messaging: Simple but Effective
Text messaging as a warning medium makes good sense for disaster alerts, as messages are more likely than other media to ultimately get through to and be seen by the intended targets in the event of a network disruption or poor reception.