NEW YORK -- An emergency alert system that will send messages to
cellphones
during disasters could have been used to warn New Yorkers of the tornadoes
that hit the city last year, city officials said Tuesday. Federal
officials
joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to announce the Commercial
Mobile Alert System, which will direct emergency messages to cellphones in
case of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other emergencies. There
will be three levels of messages, ranging from a critical national alert
from the president to warnings about impending or occurring national
disasters to alerts about missing or abducted children. People will be
able
to opt out of receiving all but the presidential alerts, Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said. The alert
system
will be up and running in New York and Washington, D.C. by the end of the
year. Genachowski said the goal is to ultimately install the system
throughout the United States. New York City Emergency Management
Commissioner Joseph Bruno said the alert system could have warned
residents
of two destructive tornadoes that hit Brooklyn and Queens last year. The
tornadoes killed one woman and caused extensive property damage. A special
chip is required to allow the phone to receive the messages. Some
smartphones already have the chip, and software updates will be available
when the network goes online later this year. The chips will not allow
government agencies to collect information about the phones' users, said
Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Fugate said cell phones turned on in the direct vicinity of a disaster --
an
evacuation zone, for instance -- would receive a message warning them of
the
impending danger. The alert would show up on the phone's front screen,
instead of the traditional text message inbox, and arrive with a distinct
ring and likely a vibration. Gilberto Palma, a 62-year-old maintenance
supervisor in the World Financial Center, a complex that was severely
damaged in the 9/11 attacks, said he thought the alert system was a great
idea. Everybody's going to be happy, especially in this area," he said. In
this building, everybody's still on alert. Debbie Hayes, a 49-year-old
nanny
who passed through the complex on the way to a play date with her
11-month-old charge, said she was also thrilled with the idea of getting
important information instantly during a crisis, even if she isn't at home
in front of the TV. I'm, like, on the go. I'm not in one place," she said,
adding that she was curious about whether the system would work on the
subway, where she has suffered from anxiety since the 9/11 attacks. .
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