Have you noticed how mainstream technology has become throughout the world? Social media and texting are just some of the many ways people use their smartphones to keep in touch during the good and bad times. But being able to stay connected allows people to know you are safe when a natural disaster of some sort has occurred. There’s nothing more important than ensuring that you and your loved ones are safe. But it is also important to be able to contact citizens during disasters.

New Facebook app to help with that

Facebook, has decided to get involved with keeping people in contact during disasters with a new feature called “Safety Check.” The feature will detect if you are in a disaster zone and then ask you if you are okay. If you are fine, you will just push the “I’m okay” button, which will then post to your Facebook that you are okay even though you are in the disaster zone, according to Syracuse. This is just a way to keep in touch with family and friends, not to communicate that you need help with first responders. But it is nice to be able to check on friends and family who are in those areas to ensure they are okay even if there are many people who are not. At the very least, you know that you can still contact them to find a way to help those who aren’t doing as well.

Communication through mobile during disaster

Smartphones are an essential form of communication, whether it is for friends and family, business to community, community to business, or anything else. Being able to communicate important information could save someone’s life. For example, it is great to be able to go door to door and let people know they need to evacuate because a fire is getting close, but it might not really be possible to reach everyone, especially if there are people who don’t want to answer the door or who are at work. However, being able to send a mass text to everyone in that area that evacuation is expected will reach everyone and allow them to get home and get loved ones out if needed. This could very quickly save a lot of lives. Another way being able to communicate with citizens through texting could be a huge benefit is that people could text you with warnings or asking for help. Maybe there is someone who can’t talk out loud because the abusive spouse is in the room listening, or maybe you’ll get someone being able to text in safety concerns on the road. There are endless possibilities that show just how important it is to communicate with citizens in emergency situations. But it is especially important to offer a form of communication that your citizens understand and that the community can use to protect itself.

Source: syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/facebook_safety_check_feature_natural_disasters.html