LTC 371-2018 NEW MBALERT SYSTEM FOR TRAFFIC AND EMERGENCIESMIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 371-2018 LETT •" TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members o' he City Co fission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: July 2, 2018
SUBJECT: NEW MBALERT SYSTEM FOR TR FFIC AND EMERGENCIES
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to notify you of a new tool that is launching
today to assist in disseminating information to our residents, businesses and tourists
during emergency situations. The Marketing and Communications Department, together
with the Department of Emergency Management are launching MBAlert to better equip
residents with the proper information to act quickly and confidently in the case of an
emergency. The new notification system equips the public, City staff and emergency
personnel with potentially life-saving information by alerting registered users on
emergency and traffic situations as they occur.
MBAlert is provided through Everbridge. This service is provided by the State to cities
throughout Florida for use during emergency situations.
Starting today, residents are encouraged to text MBAlert to 888777 to receive the latest
emergency information. The text will prompt a link to provide further information. The
more information given via the registration link, the easier it will be for precise, targeted
messages such as neighborhood flood warnings or other emergencies in their area.
Public safety and communications are consistently top priorities. As we were all
reminded during Hurricane Irma, it's vital we reach our residents in a timely and accurate
manner when critical information needs to be shared and ensure residents have access
to real-time public information when they need it the most.
By additionally downloading and signing up on the Everbridge app, MBAlert also allows
users to decide when and how they wish to be contacted. Based on their preferred
contact paths, residents can receive information via a push notification, text message,
call, e-mail and more. The notification service will first send a message via the primary
contact path and continue to other points of contact until the user has confirmed receipt
of message, creating opportunities to receive aid and assuring the safety of citizens.
In addition, the City's successful traffic alert program will also be moved to the
Everbridge Platform and no longer use the phone number 91011. New users that wish
to sign up for the traffic alerts, in addition to the emergency alerts, should send MBTraffic
to 888777 for traffic updates. All users that are currently receiving traffic texts have been
transferred to the new system.
For more information, you can visit www.miamibeachfl.gov/mbalert. To sign up on the
Everbridge platform, visit www.everbridge.com.
J LM/MM/TD