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Everbridge Helps FL Communities During Hurricane Irma

Over 20 Million Irma-Related Messages Successfully Sent through Everbridge Critical Event Management Platform

BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG), the global leader in critical event management and enterprise safety applications to help keep people safe and businesses running faster, successfully supported the State of Florida and affected local, national and international businesses’ preparation, warning and response activities surrounding Hurricane Irma. The Everbridge platform was used to send over 20 million messages to support efforts around Irma.

In Florida, the statewide emergency notification program, AlertFlorida, is powered by Everbridge and managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). Through this agency’s leadership and vision, more than 85 percent of Florida’s 67 counties across the state have deployed Everbridge’s critical event management platform. During Irma, the Everbridge system was used by these communities, as well as by those in nearby states, and by global businesses with affected employees and operations, to share safety information, weather updates, sheltering instructions and evacuation directions throughout the course of the storm. Over the course of that same period, Everbridge’s other customers sent more than 50 million messages to contacts all over the world unrelated to Hurricane Irma activities.

In preparation for the storm, the state of Florida promoted the keyword, FLPREPARES, to residents, visitors and family members, asking them to text it to 888-777, which would automatically sign them up for critical information and safety alerts powered by Everbridge. Over the course of the storm the number of individuals receiving alerts grew to over 900,000 total opt-ins, with over 600,000 sign-ups during this period. In addition, the City of Tampa promoted opt-ins with keywords in both English and Spanish, which added over 64,000 to the total number of people receiving alerts.

“Natural disasters such as Hurricanes Irma and Harvey remind us all just how important it is to be prepared to share safety information and instructions with residents when the worst happens,” added Jaime Ellertson, CEO of Everbridge. “Reliability and scalability of critical communications are essential during such events, both for individuals at risk and for organizations to address disruptions to their business operations.”

Everbridge assisted local officials through its Florida-based Technical Account Manager, as well as from its 24×7 Global Operations Center in Burlington, Mass., where the team closely tracked the hurricane throughout its duration and ensured that full support was available without a decrease in response times. View the Everbridge Hurricane Irma Infographic to learn more about the company’s activities during the storm.

Now that the storm has subsided and cleanup efforts have begun, the state of Florida has released an updated keyword – FLRESPONDS – which will share relevant information with residents about how to safely undertake the cleanup and where they can access services and assistance. Residents can text that keyword to 888-777 to receive those updates.

If you are interested in donating to the relief efforts for Hurricane Irma, you can consider donating to organizations such as UNICEF, GlobalGiving’s Irma Relief Fund, the Direct Impact Fund or the American Red Cross.

Read the full press release here

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