The pros and cons of using SMS in an emergency
SMS is the perfect emergency communications channel, right?
SMS is the perfect emergency communications channel, right?
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Using SMS in an emergency
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isie
Honorary Master
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the thing is in an emergency none of those (sms bbm, whataspp etc) are very reliable, to this day i stil have sms that never get through in time
Stokstert
Executive Member
We have a SMS system as part of our CPF to inform fellow residents of any dangers or emergencies.
A few weeks ago I got an emergency SMS at around 01h00 from one of our residents in my street.
When I pitched up at his premises a few minutes later he told me that I am only 4 hours late, the intruders had left long ago and the police have already done their thing.
Disgruntled I went to bed again.
The amount of false alarms by people who have the system on speed dial and activate it accidentally makes it unreliable as the fellow residents don't necessarily react to the SMSs any more.
A few weeks ago I got an emergency SMS at around 01h00 from one of our residents in my street.
When I pitched up at his premises a few minutes later he told me that I am only 4 hours late, the intruders had left long ago and the police have already done their thing.
Disgruntled I went to bed again.
The amount of false alarms by people who have the system on speed dial and activate it accidentally makes it unreliable as the fellow residents don't necessarily react to the SMSs any more.
Other Pineapple Smurf
Honorary Master
In an emergency SMS is a great mechanism to broadcast information but I would never rely on its use for time critical communication that could cost or save a life. Most of the problems are with the handsets not transmitting or receiving the SMS when required.
Id send an sms in an emergency, but I'd also try call etc. Try get the information out there as quickly as possible. Also I find sms to be more reliable than whatsapp so I'd be inclined to send an sms out first.
For those that are trapped in a building after an earthquake I would recommend calling. For the 99% that are ok, it would be better to sms a friend or family member to say that they are safe, and get the friend and family member to spread this virally via sms/facebook/twitter. If everyone starts calling at the same time, no one will get through, which is why Vodafone New Zealand pleaded with everyone to rather sms after the recent earthquake.
Last edited:
Rouxenator
Dank meme lord
Audio Message - It works for me.
It has little to do with the handset. The network gets the message but relegates it to a low priority group. That's the real problem, especially on weekends when people are going out.