During the 2005 hurricane season, much of the critical infrastructure in Louisiana was damaged, including voice service via landline and cell phone -- however text messaging still worked. Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's Office deployed the RSAN system as a way for the parish to alert citizens, and provide them with up-to-the-minute information during any type of critical event.
"We now have a way to get information out to our citizens quickly -- which is a priority if a hurricane is approaching," said Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff Ricky Edwards. "During an event we can tell them where to evacuate to, and after the event, if traditional lines of communication are down, we can still notify them about disruptions in power service or where to go to seek shelter."
Text messages to citizens can include updates on weather conditions, evacuation orders and alternate travel routes during severe weather conditions. Other scenarios could include keeping evacuees to date on local conditions following an evacuation or routine communications such as school or road closures.
The RSAN alert network proved reliable for current customers who assisted with Hurricane Katrina efforts last fall during their deployments to the Gulf States. "Emergency and government officials in Louisiana told us that hands down, text messaging was reliable in areas hit by Katrina and Rita," said David Drescher, CEO of Roam Secure. "Timely and accurate information is critical in helping to help citizens be prepared for future natural disasters. With RSAN, citizens and first responders Jefferson Davis Parish will be able to remain informed, and ready to respond to these events. They now have the ability to use RSAN across multiple agencies for interoperable text-based communications and information sharing."
In his testimony before the Louisiana State House of Representatives Commerce Committee on the ability of text-based emergency communication to support interoperable emergency communications and statewide citizen warning during all-hazards situations, Drescher cited Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and the National Capitol Region's use of text alerting as a prime example of how text could help the parishes across Louisiana during future hurricanes. The House committee voted 14 to 4 to send to the House floor a bill to deploy an emergency communication system focused on text alerting.
More than 85 RSAN systems are in use across the United State by major cities, counties, federal agencies, hospitals and key businesses. In the National Capital Region, Washington D.C., and 17 jurisdictions in Virginia and Maryland already use RSAN daily to communicate with the regions' first responders, employees, citizens and businesses. The Northern California Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center uses the system to communicate with more than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the State of California. The greater Philadelphia region also uses RSAN to send a variety of all-hazards notifications between local agencies and to first responders, key businesses and critical infrastructure.
