New emergency system to alert NYC

ones in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack will be implemented in New York and Washington by the end of this year, officials said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday unveiled PLAN, the Personal Localized Alerting Network, which is expected to provide residents with timely information "alerting them to imminent safety threats in their area."
Mobile phone users will receive "geographically targeted, text-like messages," according to a written statement from the Federal Communications Commission.
"Every weekday our population of 8.4 million residents swells to more than 12 million as commuters and tourists come to town," Bloomberg told reporters. "Under the PLAN program, we'll be able to broadcast (emergency) messages to any of them who are within our target area."

cnn.com