State Emergency Management Reintroduces NJ Alert

TRENTON — The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, is pleased to re-introduce NJ Alert, the State’s new mass text and email emergency notification system.
NJ Alert is a free, voluntary and confidential emergency alerting system that allows State Emergency Management officials to send E-mail or text messages to cell phones, and other email enabled devices during an emergency event. The public can sign up for NJ Alert by logging on to: www.njalert.gov or by visiting the NJOEM website at www.ready.nj.gov and clicking on the NJ Alert icon.
“During an emergency, timely dissemination of accurate information is the cornerstone of public safety. NJ Alert enables us to deliver emergency messages to the public through the convenience of their handheld devices or PCs in addition to our traditional emergency notification systems such as the Emergency Alert System and Amber Alert,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police and Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.
“NJ Alert will help direct public action in the event of a large scale emergency whether we are dealing with a hurricane or act of terrorism. Our goal is to utilize latest technology to protect lives and property,” added Fuentes.
Additionally, NJ Alert can receive homeland security and crime related tips and leads via the www.njalert.gov site or via text messaging.
Another unique feature of NJ Alert is the opportunity for members to participate in the Human Emergency Grid (HEG™), a collaborative effort in which the general public can volunteer their professional expertise to assist responders, if needed, in the event of an emergency. The service can also be used as a social networking tool. For example many groups have already been created to promote a collaborative environment between the government, private sectors and general public.
“Our service is not limited to public security information, but was uniquely designed as a group communication system for anyone – government, schools, corporations and even personal users can utilize the service for disaster recovery, family preparedness or any notification needs”, said NJ Alert creator Robert Statica, PhD, Founder of United Alert, LLC, a group of volunteer homeland security, information security and development professionals dedicated to improving preparedness and emergency communication.