Regroup Mass Notification Improves Resilience Following Natural Disasters

An important and effective way to reduce risk to human lives and mitigate losses is to have a 24/7, easy-to-use, cloud-based platform that can send out mass notifications within moments.
An important and effective way to reduce risk to human lives and mitigate losses is to have a 24/7, easy-to-use, cloud-based platform that can send out mass notifications within moments.

Preparation, information and timely notifications are the keys to lasting resiliency in the face of a myriad of threats to public safety — and that includes natural disasters.

The key to public safety and homeland security relies on clear, concise communication.

Regroup Mass Notification, is a cloud-based platform that enables both emergency and day-to-day notifications, with millions of messages sent by our clients each year.

Whether it’s an early earthquake warning, a hurricane evacuation, or a route to escape a deadly wildfire, mass notifications can save lives and aid with recovery.

(See why Regroup’s award-winning platform is the top choice for emergency and day-to-day notifications for universities, hospitals, corporations, and venues across North America and worldwide. Courtesy of Regroup Mass Notification and YouTube.)

The Department of Homeland Security defines natural disasters as any kind of extreme weather event, which means they can impact any part of the United States, threatening lives, infrastructure, agriculture and causing economic loss.

In 2018, natural disasters cost the country a record $306 billion.

Most of the bill came from hurricanes, but wildfires alone cause $18 billion in damages. 

An important and effective way to reduce risk to human lives and mitigate losses is to have a 24/7, easy-to-use, cloud-based platform that can send out mass notifications within moments.  

To learn more about how local government and businesses are using mass communication tools to keep people safe during natural disasters, we checked in with the Platinum Award Winner of the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Best Mass Notification System award, Regroup Mass Notification. 

The company, which has also been nominated for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ provided a few specific examples of how its powerful mass notification platform has been used during natural disasters:

Wildfires

The Camp Fire in 2018 was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, and one of the deadliest wildfires in world history.

By the time it was contained 17 days later, it had killed at least 85 people and consumed 240 square miles.

The total damage was estimated at $16.5 billion.

(Paradise, California, was a slice of heaven for those who lived there – until they lost everything in California’s worst wildfire. The Camp fire wiped out the town, killed at least 85 people, and scorched 150,000 acres. California’s largest utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric, filed for bankruptcy after facing mounting scrutiny for its role in the November’s. Courtesy of VICE News and YouTube. Posted on Jan 30, 2019.)

Regroup’s software was used to evacuate a local college, keeping staff, faculty and students away from the deadly wildfire.

The evacuated campus was then ready and able to be used as a much-needed staging area for firefighters and other first-response emergency personnel.

A hospital directly in harm’s way also  needed to be fully evacuated.

Regroup’s customer, a nearby medical facility, was able to use mass notifications to call in additional staff immediately as hundreds of patients flooded through the doors of its center in one single day.

It was able to provide resiliency to the health care facilities by making sure patients were cared for, and there was enough personnel and expertise to address their critical needs. 

Severe Weather

Regroup Mass Notification has full integration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service and the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Dare County, N.C. utilizes Regroup to provide visitors and residents access to National Weather Service (NWS) ocean and beach condition forecasts to help beach goers make informed decisions before they headed to the beach.

As conditions change, ocean rescue personnel can alert beach goers of hazards and the posting of red No Swimming Flags.

The use of Regroup’s opt-in and NWS alert capabilities has improved beach safety across the Dare County Outer Banks.

(The Town of Manteo is a partner with Dare County in their mass notification system (Regroup). Anyone who would like to receive direct notifications from the Town can sign up at townofmanteo.com/alerts to get the latest information by text, voice call, or email. Courtesy of the Town of Manteo and YouTube.)

Many other local governments and organizations are empowered to use local weather alerts, warnings and watches using geofence technology.

The integration means messages can be automated with less chance of human error, and is easy for administrators to send thousands of messages on any device through SMS, text, email and phone calls. 

Hurricanes

Regroup’s clients in areas affected by hurricanes have found the cloud-based platform to be particularly useful — especially when it comes to evacuations which save lives.

Hurricane Harvey in 2017 proved to be one of the most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history.

Star Pipe Products, a manufacturing client of Regroup’s found the platform to be of particular use as the slow-moving storm lingered for a long time over Texas.

Using Regroup, the company was able to save lives and keep people safe by swiftly evacuating facilities as needed using SMS, text, phone calls and emails from one simple, fast interface.

(Houston and coastal Texas was underwater after a devastating amount of rain from Tropical Storm Harvey fell on the area. Courtesy of The National and YouTube. Posted on Aug 28, 2017.)

In addition, as time moved on, the manufacturer was able to open some of its facilities for workers who were able to work.

By using Regroup’s day-to-day notification capabilities, the company was able to send out daily notifications about which facilities were open to those workers who were not evacuated or otherwise able and willing to work. 

Earthquakes

Regroup Mass Notification delivered more than 2.3 million alerts during the 10th Annual Great ShakeOut Drill, a global earthquake simulation aimed to improve earthquake preparedness and response.

The event included more than 23 million participants from around the globe.

The five-minute Great ShakeOut drill was a global event where organizations, businesses, governments, and individuals rehearsed earthquake response best practices.

(The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills are an annual opportunity for people to practice earthquake preparedness. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times and YouTube. Posted on Sep 6, 2019.)

The event served to test technological advances, and as a reminder for participants to follow the agreed-upon “drop, cover, and hold on” course of action to ensure maximum safety during a seismic event.

Regroup has been at the forefront of earthquake safety and emergency preparedness since 2014.

An early partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) enabled Regroup to be an early participant in the ShakeAlert pilot program to provide alerts for the first-ever automated, multilingual early earthquake warning notification system in the United States.

(The AlertManager mobile app enables you to access the full power of Regroup right from your iOS or Android smartphone. Populated recipient lists enable admins to quickly reach specific individuals or entire groups through multiple channels such as cell phones, home landlines and social media. When combined with prewritten message templates, event-specific multimedia or attachments and recorded canned voice alerts, it will only take a quick tap to send recipients the information they need to stay safe. Courtesy of Regroup Mass Notification and YouTube.)

Regroup was the Platinum Award recipient in the prestigious 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards, and is a Finalist in this year’s program.

Its dedication to keeping communities, organizations and the public safe and informed drives its innovations designed to provide best-in-class technological solutions to improve response and recovery during any emergency, including natural disasters. 

Regroup works with its partners, from sprawling university campuses to manufacturing plants and municipalities, to help hone their responses to emergencies and disasters.

Helping them be prepared for the unexpected is the key to their resiliency and the cornerstone of Regroup’s mission and work. 

2019 Winners to be Announced at the ‘ASTORS’ Awards Luncheon at ISC East – Register Today

Time is running out to Register for the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Luncheon on November 20th, in New York City and give yourself & your clients a break from the show!

AST's keynote speaker at the 2019 'ASTORS' Awards Luncheon will be William J. Bratton, former police commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD), the Boston Police Department (BPD), former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and Executive Chairman, Teneo Risk.
AST’s keynote speaker at the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Luncheon will be William J. Bratton, former police commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD), the Boston Police Department (BPD), former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and Executive Chairman, Teneo Risk.

The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security and public safety vertical markets.

The highlight of the 2019 AST Homeland Security Awards Program will be the ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at ISC East, in the Jacob Javits Exhibition Center from 12:00pm – 3:00pm, room 1A05.

ISC East is the Northeast’s largest security industry event and ISC East 2019 will feature Drones & Robotics.

Your ‘ASTORS’ Awards Luncheon registration includes complimentary attendee access to both ISC East – and the Infosecurity ISACA North America Expo and Conference, where you can meet the world’s most innovative suppliers and cyber experts, immerse yourself in hands-on tech and learn from world-renowned speakers and thought-leaders.

Two Global Leaders – One Combined Conference and Exhibition

Infosecurity ISACA Featuring Keynotes by Theresa Payton and Jamie Bartlett
Infosecurity ISACA Featuring Keynotes by Theresa Payton and Jamie Bartlett

Already Exhibiting and/or attending the 2019 ISC East Conference?

Thank take advantage of this exclusive luncheon opportunity to take a break from the show – Invite your team, guests, clients and show visitors to a lovely and affordable plated meal event in the heart of New York City, for  a fabulous networking opportunity!

Go to https://americansecuritytoday.com/product/awards-luncheon/ to secure your seat or reserve a table.

***Limited space available so Register Today. There will be no on-site registrations.

2018 'ASTORS' Homeland Security Awards Presentation Luncheon
2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Presentation Luncheon

The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program drew an overwhelming response from industry leaders with a record high number of corporate and government nominations received, as well as record breaking ‘ASTORS’ Presentation Luncheon Attendees, with top firms trying to register for the exclusive high – end luncheon and networking opportunity – right up to the event kickoff on Wednesday afternoon, at the ISC East registration!

2018 'ASTORS' Homeland Security Awards Luncheon at ISC East
2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Luncheon at ISC East

Over 130 distinguished guests representing National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in Physical and Cyber Security Fields including:

  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • The Federal Protective Service (FPS)
  • Argonne National Laboratory
  • The Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology (DHS S&T)
  • The Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • The Security Exchange Commission Office of Personnel Management (SEC OPM)
  • The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA)
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
  • Int Assoc of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals (IACSP)
  • Lenel, Attivo Networks, Hanwha Techwin, FLIR Systems, SolarWinds, ATI Systems, Everbridge, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Verint, Canon U.S.A., Gurucul, Regroup Mass Notification, BriefCam, ShotSpotter, HID Global, IPVideo Corp, SWORD Technologies, Kiernan Group Holdings, Allied Universal, Code Dx, Automatic Systems, TCOM LP, NICE Public Safety, PC Matic, Rave Mobile Safety, Ameristar Perimeter Security and More!

Register Today at https://americansecuritytoday.com/product/awards-luncheon/ to secure your seat or reserve a table.

The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.

Why the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?

American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’

Why American Security Today?

The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old school basics to what is Today – a fast changing security landscape.

American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 75,000 readers at the Federal, State and local levels of government as well as firms allied to government.

American Security Today brings forward a fresh compelling look and read with our customized digital publications that hold readers eyes throughout the story with cutting edge editorial that provides solutions to their challenges.

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The 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program is Proudly Sponsored by ATI SystemsAttivo NetworksAutomatic SystemsDesktop Alert and SWORD Technologies.

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