Common sense tops SMS alert system

After smoke was spotted billowing from a San Francisco subway tunnel on June 5, the city government swung into action, alerting citizens via SMS to not panic and to expect public transport delays.

The alert was from AlertSF, the city government's text-based emergency notification system for e-mail accounts and mobile devices, including cell phones and pagers. Originally designed to deliver tsunami alerts and other post-disaster information, AlertSF subscribers can receive alerts about flooding, power outages, and traffic disruptions.

San Francisco's biggest risk is from an earthquake, said Laura Adleman, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Emergency Management. "People would want to know where they could go for assistance," she said, adding that AlertSF is "one tool" that helps the city provide that information.

Alerting users about future earthquakes is not the system's intent, Adleman said. Predicting an earthquake is difficult, and the service's primary intent is to deliver post-disaster information. The service delivers U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) alerts of Northern California earthquakes measuring 5.0 or above.

Launched in October last year, the free service now has 8,840 subscribers, Adleman said. Users can sign up for it on the AlertSF Web site. Registration took me less than two minutes; it offered the option to receive alerts in English or Spanish, via SMS (Short Message Service) or e-mail. Alerts are sent based on ZIP codes or areas selected, and depending on the importance, some alerts are sent to all areas. Users can opt in and out of nationwide Amber Alerts about missing or kidnapped children, California weather alerts issued by U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and USGS earthquake alerts.

Noemi Margaret, a San Francisco resident and community emergency volunteer, appreciates the alerts, even though none has affected her yet. "I'm happy in having the alerts come to my cell phone" as accessing e-mail takes time, Margaret said.

AlertSF not only could save lives, it also serves as a security blanket, wrote Brent Schulkin, a San Francisco resident, in an e-mail interview. "Every month or two you get a little text reminder that someone is closely watching these potential threats to your community," he said.

Technology-savvy residents of San Francisco are also witnessing the service's growing pains.

Margaret receives about two alerts every month, which is not enough, she said. "More alerts would not be harmful. Information should not be shared among the elite few," she said, referring to first responders, "it should be shared with everybody." First responders are usually first on scene in emergencies. Recently a city subway line stopped operating and an alert about it was not sent, she said. An alert could have let people know to find an alternative route, she said.

Also, providing just an SMS alert is not enough, Margaret said. It should be followed up with a detailed e-mail about how citizens can act in other emergencies they were alerted about, she said.