As LA, Riverside, San Diego Counties and Cities Residents Evacuate, Cities and Schools Are Contacting Residents Regarding School Closures, Active Fire and Smoke Warnings, Evacuations and Volunteer Programs
SHERMAN OAKS, CA --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- October 25, 2007 – As horrific fires in Los Angeles and San Diego are forcing residents to evacuate their homes, officials sent over two million voice messages and 685,000 text messages within the state of California Monday to communicate important messages and alerts according to a press release issued by The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI) today.
City and school officials, using the Connect services provided by The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI), are able to send messages from any internet connection or just a phone line, in case administrators are evacuated, and reach thousands of recipients through home phones, cell phones, text messages and emails. And as families leave their homes, they are able to continue receiving these important messages through their cell phones, if registered, and stay connected to city and school announcements, even from evacuation locations when cell phone service is available.
According to the NTI Group, Inc. press release, one of every two students enrolled in California’s public schools is currently served by the Connect-ED service, and additionally, NTI is seeing heavy usage by school administrators who are currently sending messages regarding school closures and air quality issues, modifications to class and activity schedules, and to communicate with and mobilize staff.
NTI Group also announced:
- San Diego Unified School District sent close to 400,000 voice messages in six different languages Monday to update parents on school closures quickly and efficiently with a 95 percent success rate;
- Poway Unified School District, facing heavy parent and staff evacuations, sent over 280,000 voice messages;
- The University of San Diego used its Connect-ED service to keep students and staff up to date, sending voice and text messages to its students and staff as needed throughout the day;
- The city of St. Helena’s fire crews, in Northern California, used the service to call up its Strike Team units to Southern California to aid in fire containment;
- The cites of Villa Park and Laguna Woods to send messages to residents regarding unhealthful air quality conditions due to the Santiago fire in Orange County;
- Of all mass notifications messages sent Monday regarding the fires in Southern California, Connect-ED and Connect-CTY represented 68 percent of all voice call and 91 percent of all text and email messages delivered;
- In total, throughout the country, NTI sent over three million messages and 750,000 text messages on Monday through the Connect services.
Source: Vendor Press Release
