14 DAY TRIAL // Twitter’s Alerts service has now expanded into the United Kingdom and Ireland after becoming available in the United States, Japan and South Korea in September.
The service lets users get important information from credible organizations during emergencies, natural disasters or when other communications services become inaccessible.
There are 57 accounts signed up for Twitter Alerts in the UK and Ireland, including 47 police forces from the UK, the London Fire Brigade and the Mayor of London’s office.
The tweets marked as alerts will be easy to notice thanks to a highlighted orange bell. Receiving such information in a timely manner could make the difference between life and death, law enforcement officers believe.
“Using social networking sites, including Twitter, gives us additional ways to talk directly to the public. Twitter Alerts means that our messages will stand out when it most matters,” said Metropolitan Police Service Commander David Martin, the man who is in charge of emergency planning.
John Curtin, chief of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said that digital communications are enhancing the way they share warning information during incidents. “Twitter Alerts provide an excellent opportunity to increase the visibility and urgency of our most vital warning messages so that people can take action to protect themselves and their property,” he said.
Twitter users can easily sign up for the alerts as they have to choose a given account to receive information. Then, they’ll get a notification directly on the phone whenever that particular account marks a message as an alert. Alternatively, to receive Twitter Alerts as push notifications, people must use Twitter for iPhone version 5.10 or higher and Twitter for Android version 4.1.6 or higher.
Such tools are hopefully going to expand rapidly through the world, helping authorities to get information out to people in case of emergency.