Text message broadcasts could provide disaster alerts

Textually.org has pointed to another story about an SMS early warning disaster system, this time published by the august magazine New Scientist. The story pr0poses using a little used part of the GSM standard which is seperate from normal voice and text channels – meaning the signal would not get swamped. It would also enable recipients to easily distinguish between a legitimate message and a hoax one. “But perhaps the biggest obstacle faced is government acceptance, Wood says. “It has to be a system that can only be used by someone with authority and it has to be secure,” he adds.”
The cost given to implement the solution is $20 million, although it is unclear what area this covers. As a comparison, the UK could be fitted out for $2 million.
The article goes on to point out that the Pacific warning system makes do without text messaging. The Pacific system has saved countless lives, which isn’t to say it could not be improved by including some form of warning system to mobile devices. The BBC ran a story pointing out that any system needs multiple methods of warning people, and the system doesn’t need to be high tech – sirens and policemen on bicycles blowing whistles have worked well in the past. Most important is this line: “The population must be educated about tsunamis and how to respond when it comes”. There’s no point knowing a disaster is coming if you don’t know how to avoid it.

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