As I attempt to process the savage details of  the massacre at  Virginia Tech, I find myself feeling angry that two hours after the first shootings many students and staff had no idea that a shooter was on the loose. 

Many organizations will now be rethinking the way they function in an emergency. In this day and age, it must be possible to notify large groups of people during an  emergency in order to warn them of danger. Our lives depend on it.
Even low-tech solutions like alarms and sirens need to be reconsidered.

Full Disclosure: Hepcat consults for a company called Send Word Now, that provides a service called SWN ALERT SERVICE to contact people during emergencies and in everyday, time-sensitive situations.

In the two years that Hepcat has worked with Send Word Now, emergency situation after situation in the news has demonstrated to me the need for a service which provides on-demand alerting and response.

During an emergency, communication is so vital and it saves lives.

The founders of Send Word Now began developing SWM Alert Service after 9/11 when they recognized the necessity of such a service to inform large groups of people during a terrorist attack. They knew it would also be significant for a wide range of emergency or time-sensitive situations like hurricanes and other weather and health emergencies.   

Send Word Now’s service communicates critical information in real-time so that people can be informed about what’s happening when it’s happening so that people will know what to do; so that people won’t put themselves in deeper danger; to reduce the risk of death. 

But technology is not the only answer. Low-tech solutions like emergency preparedness training, sirens, bullhorns, alarms, code words, and phone chains must be updated.

Sadly, institutions need to know in advance how they will deal with an emergency.
It’s definitely something none of us want to think about but what would we do if we were in a critical situation and needed to contact other members of our community?