In an emergency, free pager alerts may be used to alert the public. Members of the public can sign up for this service to stay informed about these kinds of events when they occur.
Free Pager Alerts: Amber Alert
The Amber Alert program is an example of a system where subscribers can sign up at no charge to be informed of child abductions in their state. Members of the public have the option of receiving information through their cell phone or pager.
How to Sign Up for Amber Alert Pager Notifications
If you are interested in signing up for an Amber Alert, the first step is to visit the AMBERalert.com website. You will be asked to fill in an online form to get your account set up. Once the account is up and running, you will receive Amber Alerts when the police issue one for your area.
OK-Warn Weather Alert
People living in Oklahoma who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have the option of signing up to receive OK-Warn Weather Alerts on a pager. This program shares weather alerts from the National Weather Service for the following severe weather conditions:
Flash floods High-wind warnings River floods Severe thunderstorms Tornadoes
To get access to these free pager alerts, the subscriber needs to have an alphanumeric pager and an account with a pager service. A wireless device that uses an e-mail address, such as a cell phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) can be used with this system as well.
Once the National Weather Service issues a warning, subscribers to the OK-Warn plan receive the information within a minute or two. The following circumstances will cause delays in relaying alerts to subscribers:
- Busy Internet traffic
- Damaged pager
- High volume of telephone traffic
- Low battery in pager
- Paging tower or paging company going down
e2 Campus Crisis Notification Service
The e2 Campus Crisis System is not free, but it does offer a service to broadcast information quickly in an emergency. University administrators can use it to notify students, their parents, faculty members, and staff using several communication methods, including:
- Blackberry devices
- Cell phones
- Home phones
- LED display boards
- Loudspeakers
- Pagers
- Personal e-mail accounts
- Pop-up alerts on desktop computers
- Profile pages on Facebook
- School e-mail accounts
Other Uses for the System
The e2 Campus Crisis System is not just for emergency use, though. Once system has been put in place, it can be used to relay the following information:
- Changes in hours of operation
- Parking changes
- Closures due to scheduled maintenance
- Traffic advisories
Getting free pager alerts will keep you informed. As you can see, there are a number of applications for this method of keeping the public notified of emergencies as they arise.
