Victoria Police issue statewide fire SMS and Twitter alerts
Victoria Police have taken the unprecedented step of sending a text message to every mobile phone in the state, warning of extreme weather conditions on Monday night and Tuesday.
Considering that a mobile phone is something almost everyone carries in their pocket at all times, it would seem an obvious extra channel for reaching people - obviously in conjunction with traditional newspapers, television and radio alerts. The police have even embraced Twitter, although this will be more useful once Twitter re-enables its SMS features in Australia.
I think the Victoria Police should be applauded from showing some initiative here. Unfortunately it comes after the federal and state governments balked at the $20 million cost of a telephone based alert system that would have given early warning of the deadly Black Saturday bushfires which claimed almost 200 lives.
Today's SMS alert was initially sent to all mobile phones on the Telstra network, with other networks to follow. It read;
"Msg from Vic Police: Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to local ABC Radio for emergency updates. Do not reply to this."
It is the first time Victoria Police has utilised SMS messaging as a virtual doorknock to all Victorians, according to police spokesman Glen Atwell. The same message was also sent via Twitter, linking to the Victoria Police website.
"Today, Victoria Police sent a state-wide SMS alert to all mobile phone accounts in Victoria," Atwell said. "The SMS is intended to reinforce the warnings of extreme weather forecast for tomorrow. Severe weather warnings were published in a number of Melbourne daily newspapers today. Radio and television alerts have also been broadcast."
The state and federal governments recently came under fire for delaying the implementation of telephone-based emergency alerts. The Victorian State Emergency Services successfully trialled a system designed to bombard mobile and fixed phones within a given area with warning messages.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland had been urged to fast-track changes to the Telecommunications Act, to grant state emergency services access to the national database of phone numbers. He was quoted as saying there was no possibility a phone warning system could have been introduced ahead of the Black Saturday fires, but that the target was to have it operational by the "next fire season".
When you consider the economic impact of the Black Saturday fires, not to mention the emotional toll, I say surely it's time for the bickering to end to get get this system working.
source
Considering that a mobile phone is something almost everyone carries in their pocket at all times, it would seem an obvious extra channel for reaching people - obviously in conjunction with traditional newspapers, television and radio alerts. The police have even embraced Twitter, although this will be more useful once Twitter re-enables its SMS features in Australia.
I think the Victoria Police should be applauded from showing some initiative here. Unfortunately it comes after the federal and state governments balked at the $20 million cost of a telephone based alert system that would have given early warning of the deadly Black Saturday bushfires which claimed almost 200 lives.
Today's SMS alert was initially sent to all mobile phones on the Telstra network, with other networks to follow. It read;
"Msg from Vic Police: Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to local ABC Radio for emergency updates. Do not reply to this."
It is the first time Victoria Police has utilised SMS messaging as a virtual doorknock to all Victorians, according to police spokesman Glen Atwell. The same message was also sent via Twitter, linking to the Victoria Police website.
"Today, Victoria Police sent a state-wide SMS alert to all mobile phone accounts in Victoria," Atwell said. "The SMS is intended to reinforce the warnings of extreme weather forecast for tomorrow. Severe weather warnings were published in a number of Melbourne daily newspapers today. Radio and television alerts have also been broadcast."
The state and federal governments recently came under fire for delaying the implementation of telephone-based emergency alerts. The Victorian State Emergency Services successfully trialled a system designed to bombard mobile and fixed phones within a given area with warning messages.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland had been urged to fast-track changes to the Telecommunications Act, to grant state emergency services access to the national database of phone numbers. He was quoted as saying there was no possibility a phone warning system could have been introduced ahead of the Black Saturday fires, but that the target was to have it operational by the "next fire season".
When you consider the economic impact of the Black Saturday fires, not to mention the emotional toll, I say surely it's time for the bickering to end to get get this system working.
source
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