HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.23.15 Everbridge Press Release
City of Plainview NEWS
901 Broadway St.
Plainview, TX 79072
November 23, 2015
City of Plainview will launch Everbridge
st
on December 21 to Rapidly Distribute
Emergency & Non-Emergency Information
The City of Plainview will be launching the Everbridge notification system on Monday,
st,
December 21 to send time-sensitive messages about severe weather alerts,
hazardous environmental issues and potential dangerous events in progress. In addition
to emergency response, the Everbridge solution can be used to provide businesses,
residents and city staff with important information, such as power outages, street
closures, water utility maintenance and other events happening in Plainview.
“We have a similar system in place but we have found that Everbridge offers the best
functionality and reporting ability,” said Derrick McPherson, City of Plainview
Emergency Management Captain. “These different methods of communication will allow
us to keep the citizens better informed of emergency and non-emergency events as
they happen.”
Teaming up with Everbridge will provide an online portal for residents to sign up for
alerts - allowing members to provide contact information and specify how they would
like to receive messages. The City will also be able to integrate data from the white
pages in order to reach residents and prevent communication failure in the case of
extreme emergencies.
With the Everbridge system, information can be delivered through several methods
including landlines, cell phones, email addresses, and text messages to ensure that
residents, businesses and city staff receive emergency notifications in minutes.
Integrated geo-targeting allows messages to be delivered directly to impacted citizens,
based on location, or selected streets, neighborhoods, or designated areas.
“The system allows us to target an area of the City for a specific purpose,” said
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McPherson. “For example, if they are working on water lines at 14 & Nassau, we can
send notifications to residents in that area so they are aware of street work near their
home.”
Besides notifying citizens of different happenings, Everbridge provides the capability for
City department managers to notify their staff of emergency situations or other
upcoming events.
“We have a variety of departments and each one has a different way of communicating
with their staff,” said Jeffrey Snyder, City Manager. “Everbridge will allow managers to
notify their staff in a specific manner – such as an emergency situation where all staff
are needed or to relay information about an upcoming employee meeting.”
As the registration deadline approaches, the City of Plainview will be offering guidance
on setting up your account as well as opportunities for citizens to sign up. For more
information about Everbridge, please contact Derrick McPherson at 296.1185.
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