SAN MATEO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2014) - AtHoc, Inc., the leader in network-centric interactive crisis communication systems, extended its continued support for the government of Mexico and the public agencies responsible for establishing the country's warning system for earthquakes. Mexico experienced a 7.2 earthquake on Friday, April 18, 2014 that was felt in at least four Mexican states but resulted in no loss of life.

CLICK TO TWEET: # AtHoc: Mexico Sets the Standard for Earthquake Warnings: http://bit.ly/1mwbyIp.

"We have worked closely for years with Director Juan Manuel Espinosa Aranda and his staff at the Center for Seismic Registry to develop and implement the warning system that was deployed in response to the April 18^th earthquake," said Efraim Petel, vice president of Global Public Safety for AtHoc, Inc. "The fact that there was no loss of life is not a coincidence. The Mexican government has been very assiduous in not only developing an earthquake monitoring system, but more importantly, taking the additional step to develop a mass communications system to warn the public."

AtHoc participated as a partner in earthquake exercises conducted by the Mexican government on March 19^th and March 20^th involving more than four and half million people in the Guerrero and Chiapas regions to test the same emergency communications alerting system that was used in response to the April 18^th earthquake which also hit the same area.

"For us, it is not enough to have just an earthquake detection system," said Espinosa. "Our goal is to take things a step further and develop a warning system that will result in being able to warn all of the population on a targeted basis. We want to be able to alert people in advance of the earthquake hitting and to tell people how much time they have to take cover. That is our target and we continue to make progress. "

"Director Espinosa and the Mexican government should be complimented for their foresight of connecting mass communications devices -- loudspeakers, radios in schools, sirens, radio and t.v. broadcasts -- to the very devices that detect earthquakes," said Petel. "Developing a network where the actual communication devices were instantly activated the minute the earthquake sensors went off resulted in additional precious seconds of warning time for people to take cover, in some cases more than a minute of time, which is a lot for an earthquake."

Petel, a resident of California where AtHoc is located, noted the only time individuals in the United States are aware an earthquake is happening is when it actually hits. "In a country with advanced communication networks such as the United States, at a minimum, there is no reason people should not receive simultaneous warnings via texts and push notifications to their mobile phones/tablets, and messages via LED billboards and signs alongside roads and highways to have more warning."

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About AtHoc
AtHoc is the recognized leader, innovator and trusted partner in network-centric interactive crisis communication systems. AtHoc's products are used for physical security, employee protection, personnel accountability, staff recall and regulatory compliance for military, homeland security, government, healthcare, industrial and commercial organizations.

Millions of end-users worldwide rely on AtHoc's unified notification systems for their emergency alerting and critical communication needs in organizations such as Microsoft, Eastman Chemical, USS-POSCO Industries, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Baylor Scott & White Health, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), UCLA, U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

AtHoc was recently awarded Government Security News' (GSN) award for Best Mass Notification System and has also been recognized by Gartner, Inc. as a leader in its Magic Quadrant for Emergency Mass Notification Services and by IHS Inc. as The Fastest Growing Mass Notification Software Supplier. For more information about AtHoc, please visit www.athoc.com.