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Prepare for emerging threats in 2024: Strategies for enabling business continuity
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Emergency response to the Midwest tornadoes

In an emergency, how will you alert first responders and volunteers? Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that consists of military veterans and first responders, uses Everbridge to accelerate its disaster response. Before Everbridge, Team Rubicon would reach out to volunteers one by one through manual calls and emails. Now, Everbridge speeds up Team Rubicon’s disaster response, and allows this organization to quickly contact large groups of volunteers via emails, phone calls, SMS messages, and more.

 

Recently, Team Rubicon used Everbridge to coordinate its volunteer response to the Midwest tornadoes. In Nov. 2013, Team Rubicon launched Operation: Honest Abe to assist homeowners in Washington, Illinois, where the heaviest tornado damage was reported. During Team Rubicon’s initial response, Everbridge was used to re-route some of its volunteers from the Philippines. The first Team Rubicon volunteers arrived at the scene the next morning to coordinate a response with the local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and Emergency Operations Center. More volunteers arrived in the evening.

 

To accelerate regional response to the Midwest tornadoes, one of Team Rubicon’s Everbridge power users alerted volunteers within a 250-mile radius of Region 5, an area that includes Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and other nearby states. Emails and SMS messages were sent to Team Rubicon volunteers across the region, which helped Team Rubicon get more people to provide support at the scene. To date, 130 volunteers have poured nearly 7,000 hours of service into Operation: Honest Abe.

 

Team Rubicon has grown to nearly 14,000 volunteers and launched 50 missions in four continents and 11 countries. In 2014, Team Rubicon will try to build on this momentum to not only respond to more crises, but to replicate Team Rubicon in other countries.

 

Everbridge is proud to support Team Rubicon with a critical communication platform, allowing mission coordinators to avoid communication failure, send requests to volunteers, and keep up-to-date on the needs and progress of field teams during missions. To learn more about how Everbridge supports Team Rubicon’s mission, click here.

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