Twitter, texting help disaster communication

By Natasha T. Metzler

updated 2:28 p.m. ET Sept. 1, 2009

WASHINGTON - A national safety group says Text messaging, Twitter and social networking Web sites could help families stay in touch in the aftermath of a disaster.

The Safe America Foundation announced Tuesday a national campaign to train families about alternate ways of staying in touch if traditional communication methods were not working.

More than 200,000 people are expected to participate in drills of alternative emergency communication tools starting on Sept. 11 and lasting through mid-October. Some participants are individuals who pledged on the organization's Web site. Others are employees of companies such as United Parcel Service, Motorola and Office Depot that plan to hold safety drills and training sessions.

MORE FROM SECURITY

Security Section Front

Weeding through online flower sites   3-D movies are harder to pirate — for now Security expert cracks PC encryption chip Chinese police shut down hacker training op Chinese-born spy gets 15 years in prison Microsoft: Pirated software still sold in Russia The Internet will watch you FAIL! ‘Technostress’ to downside of modern technology Police: Fugitive's Facebook info leads to arrest Dueling rulings on school MySpace discipline Security Section Front   Add Security headlines to your news reader: