Twitter on Wednesday launched a system for emergency
alerts which can help spread critical information when other lines of
communication are down.
The popular messaging service said its Twitter Alerts
could be useful in natural disasters or other emergencies when traditional channels
may be overloaded or unavailable.
"We know from our users how important it is to be
able to receive reliable information during these times," Twitter product
manager Gaby Pena said in a blog post.
"Twitter Alerts is a new way to get accurate and
important information when you need it most."
Last year, Twitter announced a service called Lifeline
to help Japanese users find emergency accounts during crises "and since
then, we've been working on a related feature for people around the world,"
Pena said.
"Today, we're launching Twitter Alerts, a new
feature that brings us one step closer to helping users get important and
accurate information from credible organizations during emergencies, natural
disasters or moments when other communications services aren't
accessible."
Users who sign up to receive an account's Twitter
Alerts will receive a notification directly to their phone for tweets marked as
alerts from certain senders.
A number of organizations in the United States, Japan
and South Korea have been authorized to send such alerts, and Twitter will
expand this to "public institutions and NGOs around the world."
Some of those able to send alerts include the American
Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Health Organization, and
government and non-government agencies in Japan and South Korea.
Twitter's Bridget Coyne said the messaging platform
became a vital information source following the Japan tsunami, and in the
United States for Superstorm Sandy and the Boston bomb attacks.
She said those likely to use the alerts include
law enforcement and public safety agencies, emergency management agencies,
local governments and private organizations involved in disaster relief.
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