How to Use Twitter's New Crisis Alerts

Local government emergency managers have been trying for years to figure out ways to alert members of the public about crises and incidents, like natural disasters, that could affect them. Limited success has been achieved with auto-dialer implementation, which is dependent on phone lines' capacity. Twitter thinks it may have the best answer, though, and has recently made live a system whereby Twitter users can sign up for Twitter-published government warnings that will be sent directly to individuals' Twitter accounts.