It is great that the UK government is providing this service, but I  
think it is also important that travelers know how to prepare for and  
respond to hazard events such as hurricanes, flooding or even  
earthquakes. It is with children in mind that I launched http://www.edu4hazards.org 
  last year which shows what children and youth can do to prepare as  
well as respond to these events. However the advice is useful to all  
age groups and would be better than the current 'listen to a radio'  
advice currently on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.  
Travelers, like the local population may need to be prepared to  
survive without aid during an emergency for up to 72 hours. It is  
hoped that this website will be useful to all and is designed in such  
a way that it provides the basic advice with a menu to find out more  
if required, rather than overloading users with a text heavy website,  
which makes it hard to see what is really needed. I hope this helps  
travelers worldwide to prepare for such emergencies. There are plans  
underway for translation of the principle advice into a number of  
languages.

Regards,

Justin Sharpe
On 16 May 2008, at 13:13, Luca Pezzullo wrote:

>> The British Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has just  
>> launched
>> a service, LOCATE, for tourists and other travellers caught up in
>> emergencies overseas. Travellers register their contact details and  
>> travel
>> plans online. If an emergency or crisis develops, British embassies  
>> can
>> use this information to try to contact them and provide advice.
>>
>> The URL is at www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/ 
>> Locate/
>
>
> Good news; Italian Government activated a similar service some years  
> ago, too:
> "Dove Siamo Nel Mondo" (Where we are in the World).
> https://www.dovesiamonelmondo.it/
>
> The service, managed by the Crisis Unit of Italian Foreign Office,  
> provides
> the possibilty to get specific and frequently updated safety  
> information, on
> every country in the world, before the trip (natural hazards info  
> too); to
> indicate by web (in an encrypted way), sms or phone, the locations,  
> travel
> plans and emergency contact numbers of the travellers; to be  
> immediately
> contacted - in case of emergency - by the Foreign Office, Embassies,  
> consular
> representatives and/or emergency services, for managing the  
> monitoring of the
> situation, providing information and advice, and organizing  
> emergency support
> or evacuation.
> It's a really useful system, and I thin that the LOCATE system will  
> provide to
> UK travellers the same level of information and safety the  
> "DoveSiamoNelMondo"
> system provides to Italian ones !
>
> My best,
> Luca Pezzullo