NGOs work in some of the most unstable places on this planet. In some locations there are serious risks from potential natural disasters such as cyclones, volcanoes and earthquakes. Staff safety is also put at risk by man-made events such as war, acts of terrorism or public protest.
Organisations have a duty to keep people safe and will have policies in place to govern how aid is delivered in such a way that risks to staff are reduced.
The flow of information about events is regarded as very important for two reasons: Firstly if the event happens in a place where the organisation operates, accurate information will enable decision makers to take the correct actions to keep staff safe. Secondly, event information is useful to organisations far away from an event. For example, an alert about a severe earthquake would give emergency response personnel a heads up that they might soon be deployed.
In this article, we will explore some warning and monitoring tools – some are free of charge, others need to be paid for. Note – I have saved the best to last!
Free alerts
There are many organisation on the web which send out alerts when significant natural events take place. The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) is supported by the UN and EU. GDACS is constantly kept up date with many events ranging from minor to major. Coverage is fully global and its free to set up an account.
Anyone can set up an account at www.gdacs.org. As soon as the account is active, users will be able to customise settings so that they can receive alerts and updates about various types of natural disaster. For those with a specific interested in a certain geographical region or country, the account can be set to send alerts which only cover the geographical area of interest.
For major natural events such as strong earthquakes near population centres, cyclones and Tsunami alerts, GDACs will send out SMS alerts to subscribers in addition to email messages.
For those with Smartphones, GDACs can be accessed via a fee app.
Other free resources: In addition to GDACs, there are various local options around the world – especially in areas where there are frequent risks. The USGS runs an alert service for seismic events which covers the globe. Weather is a severe risk to the USA and they have set up the National Hurricane Centre (part of NOAA). Their website is a great place to track hurricanes as they form out to sea. Although NOAA is operated by the US Government, the area of coverage includes the Caribbean.
NOAA used to push email and text alerts. This stopped a few years ago as messaging was outsourced to third parties. The link to the NOAA site will take you to a list of third parties who distribute information – some do it for free.
United States Geographical Survey: https://sslearthquake.usgs.gov/ens/ United States Weather (NOAA) http://www.weather.gov/subscribe
Commercial Solutions
International SOS / Control Risks: In addition to natural disasters, travellers need to know about manmade events such as riots, demonstrations, war, acts of terrorism and other risks. Many NGOs use a service which is provided jointly by International SOS and Control risks. Organisations often buy in this service along with medical insurance. Staff who belong to organisations which have subscribed to this service will be able to keep up to date about local significant events which can present a risk to safety. The app also links users to country information useful to travellers – normally information about visas, security, travel, medical and culture information for business travellers. A button is also included so that the local number for International SOS is dialled should medical assistance be required.
Safeture – Global Warning System (GWS): Whilst free solutions such as GDACs are free, they should only be regarded as one jigsaw in the big safety and security picture. International SOS/Control Risks are two very reputable organisations who provide really reliable information from its network of global agents. Safeture GWS to me is the Gold standard as this system is much more than a means to access information or connect people to medical assistance. GWS connects staff to their safety and security teams in a very ingenious way using the technology that exists in may smart phones.
GWS an advanced safety and security management system. The control portal allows managers to sign on and view current information alerts for all countries where staff are based. Safeture has developed a system which captures information from a wide variety of sources ranging from local news services to global systems like GDACs. For events of high importance such as Tsunami alerts, the system is designed to get the alerts to staff automatically as services such as USGS and GDACs are regarded as trusted sources. Real people will monitor further news following any event and will rerelease information as soon as its been verified (This happens quickly by the way).
Important messages are delivered to users via SMS as well as the internet App.
The screen shot below shows the main overview screen. Staff locations are displayed along with a link so that managers can send messages directly to staff by SMS. In an event such as a terrorist attack, this system gives organisations the ability to track staff, account for their safety and to send instructions – perhaps informing them of a safe place to muster.
GWS can be downloaded as an app onto Android, Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft smartphones.
The GWS app utilises several features on the smartphone to provide the end user with a complete safety and security service. The app uses a combination of GPS and network triangulation to establish the users location. This enables the app to display relevant national information. Users can also display information for other countries. GPS is also used to report the users location back to the system so that managers can monitor.
The SOS button brings up a new screen which allows the user to call local emergency services such as the police. If such a call is made, notification goes back to the system to let managers know that an SOS call has been made.
Staff may not wish to be monitored all of the time if they are present in their home countries and “off duty” To protect the privacy of the user, the smart phone can be set to only report which country the user is located, but not where in that country.
In addition to news and alerts, WGS also displays country information. The content is similar to what is provided by Control Risks, but organisations can also add further information such as country office locations, contact lists, and curfew information.
Conclusion
In highly insecure environments this is possibly the most effective security solution I have seen to date. Specialist tracking devices can attract the wrong sort of information. The ability to deliver an information and tracking system on devices which people already own is just pure ingenuity. This system will work well in most places where there is basic mobile coverage. In places where there is no internet access, staff will be able to receive important alerts via SMS and then send back their locations by SMS by pressing a button on the handset. Safeture GWS would be a great investment for any organisation who take safety and security seriously.