Communicating during an Emergency: Beta 80 Group solutions

Clear and correct communication with the population and the single citizen is essential for effective large-scale emergency management. 

The tools are growing in number and complexity and can be used:

1. in times of peace, for advice and best practices,
2. in emergencies to inform and guide operations.

Anyone managing large-scale emergencies knows that the correct information flow begins long before the message to the citizen. It starts with developing comprehensive emergency plans.

Apps and tools connecting citizens and operators.

Notification apps are certainly among the most groundbreaking solutions. Smart notification is a powerful system: it automatically retrieves information from private channels (email, messages, push notifications) and social media, such as Twitter and Telegram.

Beta 80 Group offers two solutions: one for operators and one for citizens, to facilitate communication with people in the field.

• ACT is an app for operators to communicate with the territory and provide an updated picture of the situation. It can receive direct communications from the control unit or the manager, providing a clear communication flow and localization data.

• ALERT is a free citizen app. Its purpose is to inform of current events, both planned (large fairs, events) or unforeseen, such as natural disasters. The app provides updated information and useful data. ALERT interacts with the Beta 80 Safety 1st solution and lets citizens check the event status, send communications or reports, and consult the emergency plan on the correct behavior to follow.

EARLY WARNING - preventing large emergencies

One of the main advantages of integrated communication and the aggregation of data from different sources is the ability to foresee an emergency in advance, especially natural disasters. Beta 80 Group, with the Universities and Research Centers, has developed a set of solutions, like Turnkey, to allow the PSAP or EOC to receive and monitor data and promptly report anomalies.  

By forecasting possible emergencies, the PSAP can issue an EARLY WARNING: an alert received in advance that can lead to prevention measures. From an organizational point of view, this type of notification can give an estimated situation long before the physical inspection, protecting the personnel safety and saving time, costs, and resources.

The process underlying Early Warning is a complex system that aggregates software and hardware technologies (sensors and event receptors). Early Warning systems are undergoing a rapid evolution thanks to the constant and accelerated development of the Internet of Things (IoT) that reduces the cost of the connected hardware. Finally, the increasingly widespread use of social networks transforms citizens into virtual sensors and makes them an active part of the emergency management process.

Emergency ap why they are important

With the technology advancing rapidly, informational apps and tools will become increasingly present in large scale emergencies. An organization that deals with these issues must necessarily adapt in order not to waste precious time. Precisely for this reason, it is important to implement plans that include alert tools and communicate their adoption to citizens in time.