Time is of the essence in times of disaster. Every minute counts because so many things can change in a matter of minutes. SMS emergency alerts are essential for nonprofits, businesses, local governments, and disaster relief organisations. Text messages are without a doubt the best way to spread the word in emergencies, with a 100% open rate within 3 minutes.
Your chances of saving a life increase with the speed at which you send an emergency SMS. Continue reading to find out how to effectively write an emergency notification and the various ways you can use SMS in emergencies.
What Are Text Messages for Emergencies?
Text messages sent during emergencies are known as emergency alert texts or emergency text notifications. They convey important information and give crucial details about dangers, security issues, and required actions. Opt-in is typically not necessary for emergency text alerts sent by government agencies or local authorities. These non-commercial messages provide people with information on emergencies, catastrophes natural or man-made, severe weather, public health emergencies, or terrorism.
How Do Mobile Text Alerts Work?
SMS alerts are notifications that are sent to mobile phones via text message. When recipients opt-in, they send them promotional messages, updates, or important information. Text notifications are brief. For order updates, appointment reminders, service outage notifications, event announcements, and other purposes, many companies and organisations use them.
In times of emergency or disaster, send SMS messages
Send text message alerts and quickly mobilise the population in an emergency
Burning or detonating
The unknown gunman or armed individual
Threat of bomb
Terrorist danger
Shark assault
Domestic abuse
Kidnapping
Invasion
It can also be used to alert people to safety procedures testing and to cascade emergency response plans. Texting is frequently much safer than other communication methods, such as voice calls, in situations like domestic violence or kidnapping.
To lessen panic and confusion in circumstances where timing is crucial, make sure your message is delivered promptly, received, and read promptly. You can quickly reach people with text messaging thanks to its 98% open rate, of which 90% are opened within the first few minutes. Through our dashboard, you can quickly send an SMS, enter a message, and select the recipients for your message. As your message is delivered, you can watch it in real-time.
During medical emergencies, integrate text messaging to have medical alerts send text messages to the appropriate recipients.
Localised Weather Warnings
You have probably already received emergency alert texts when the weather is bad if you live in a region that frequently experiences natural disasters like tornadoes, wildfires, or hurricanes. Local weather alerts via SMS gateway are the best ways to reach residents, whether there is a potential hazard or an immediate threat.
These alerts are frequently sent by cities or municipalities to inform people where and how to seek cover as well as the safest escape routes. For instance, messages may only contain a weather warning; however, if a disaster is imminent, they may also contain links to other local news sources and safety advice.
Create a sense of urgency while keeping the content concise when writing a weather emergency alert. Readers must read the entire picture of how bad the situation is at a single glance.
Corporate Alerts
Through company-employee communication, SMS emergency alerts can also be sent. Employees are more mobile than ever because of the growth of hybrid work. However, one item they never leave home without is a smartphone.
Use an emergency text messaging system instead of email and instant messaging when your company needs to communicate crucial information about a building-related emergency or a local disaster. Without having to open an app or be in the office, your employees can quickly learn about time-sensitive information.
Just keep in mind that your employees must consent to receiving texts from your business. Tell them how crucial the alert system is and how it can keep them and their coworkers safe.
Texting can be used to mobilise employees or volunteers.
Get the appropriate people on board as soon as an emergency arises. You can be sure that you can reach the appropriate people wherever they are with emergency SMS notifications. Use our email-to-SMS tool to send messages from the dashboard or even from your preferred email client.
Final Words
It only makes sense to use SMS in emergencies because text messages have a much higher open rate than emails. With the help of a text messaging service like Guni, you can increase volunteer efforts, raise more money through donations, and quickly notify people using SMS emergency alerts. Create a contact list right away to start saving lives.