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Send Word Now Introduces WeatherBlast Two-Way Alerts Service for Rapid and Secure Communication During Severe Weather

 

NEW YORK, NY – June 23, 2008. Send Word Now, the leading provider of on-demand alerting and response services, today announced WeatherBlast, its proprietary rapid severe weather alerting and response service, which is powered by the WeatherBug® Network. Using pre-defined user profiles, WeatherBlast delivers precision-targeted early warning alerts to warn and prepare citizens as well as businesses, customers and employees within minutes across any device, in the event of severe weather.


The offering is the largest real-time, location-based weather alerting service available, and can send notifications to anyone, anywhere, anytime via voice and/or text devices, including landlines, cell phones, pagers, PDAs, e-mail and BlackBerry® PIN. WeatherBlast offers dramatic advancements in alerting by proactively monitoring and notifying subscribers of storm threats, tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning strikes, dangerous wind gusts, extreme heat and humidity (heat index) and heavy precipitation.


“In order to be more resilient as a nation, we have to understand the different risks each of our communities face,” said Julie Rochman, President and CEO of the Institute for Business & Home Safety. “Reducing property losses isn’t solely about saving walls, roofs, windows and doors. It’s about protecting people where they live and work. Providing and heeding clear, advanced warnings about potential natural or man-made disasters and other emergencies are critical to success.”


“Early warning systems like WeatherBlast from Send Word Now can help get people to safety and protect property,” said Tony Schmitz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Send Word Now. “Rapid, accurate notification of weather conditions can help to control damage and prevent loss of life from a destructive tornado, hurricane, lightning strike or wildfire.”


 

Severe Weather Statistics

  • An average of $42 billion in annual economic loss is related to severe weather.
  • Weather contributes to 7,400 deaths and approximately 1.5 million highway crashes per year, with 17% of all highway fatalities occurring during adverse weather.
  • In the United States, there are an estimated 25 million lightning flashes each year. Lightning is the second greatest cause of storm-related deaths in the United States.
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that there is a 60 to 70 percent chance of 12 to 16 named storms, including six to nine hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes for 2008.


The WeatherBlast solution combines Send Word Now’s rapid notification capabilities with live, streaming weather information from the WeatherBug Network of more than 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations in the U.S., the United States Precision Lightning Network (USPLN) and the National Weather Service to plot the current weather conditions on a 5 km (3.2 miles) grid map. All alerts can be pre-loaded with customizable, call-to-action instructions, such as “Stay Inside,” “Secure Outdoor Signage and Displays,” or “Contact the Emergency Operations Center Immediately.”


“We use Send Word Now as an internal system to alert our 5,500 employees of emergency situations that range from hazardous incidents to severe weather. From a notification standpoint, Send Word Now is an efficient, one-stop shop system. It supports our communication channels and replaces the need for outdated phone trees.” said Eric A. Haugstad, Director of Emergency Response at Tesoro Corporation.


Send Word Now’s latest offering complements its core SWN Alert Service, along with a growing portfolio of content-specific and incident-related offerings. Customers such as The Bank of New York®, Tiffany®, Wal-Mart®, United Network for Organ Sharing, AXA Financial®, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs use Send Word Now as a critical tool for rapid notification and response.



 

About Send Word Now

Send Word Now is the leading provider of on-demand alerting and response services driving effective communication during time sensitive situations. The easy-to-use, web based services are used by corporations, government agencies and educational institutions to ensure fast, effective, two-way communication in real-time, ensuring continuity during time sensitive events - anywhere, anytime, regardless of location, device or connection. The company is headquartered in New York City. More information about Send Word Now and WeatherBlast can be found at www.sendwordnow.com.

 

Press Contact:

Laura Sankowich

SWN Communications, Inc.

212-379-4928

lsankowich@sendwordnow.com