Emergency Notification Message Templates You Can Copy

An emergency notification template is alert wording you write and approve before anything happens. When an incident starts, you pick the right one and send it in seconds. Below are 12 templates you can copy, each with a text, voice and email version, plus what your notification system should add for you when you send.

How to write an emergency alert template

What every template needs

When people get an alert, they want to know four things right away: what is happening, where, what they should do, and when they'll hear more. A good template answers all four in the first couple of lines. Background and details can come after.

• Lead with the action. "Evacuate now" or "Shelter in place" belongs in the first sentence, not the third.
• Write it once, send it many times. The best templates need no editing when you send them. Keep details general unless they're the same every time.
• Keep the text version short. Most people read the text first, so put the action in the first line. If there's more to say, the full message should be one tap away.
• Promise the next update. "We'll send an update in 30 minutes" keeps people from calling the front desk or guessing.

In the templates below, [LOCATION] marks where the affected site goes. Your system should fill it in when you pick the site, so the wording itself never needs editing.

What your notification system should add for you

These templates are only the part you write. A good notification system fills in the rest when you send, so nobody is typing it during an emergency:

• The affected location. Wherever you see [LOCATION], the system should ask the sender to pick the site from a list and fill in its name and address. It should also send the alert only to the people at that site.
• The safety question. For emergency alerts, the system should add the "are you safe?" prompt to every channel automatically: a button in the app, the desktop alert, the email and the web page linked from the text, a reply option by text, and a press 1, press 2 prompt on voice calls.
• The full message. If the text is longer than one message, the system should send a link to the complete alert instead of cutting it off.

If your current tool makes you type any of this by hand, that's time taken away from warning people.

Safety threat templates

1. Active threat or lockdown

• Text: LOCKDOWN at [LOCATION]. Threat reported. Get to a safe place, lock or block the door, silence your phone. Stay until police say it's safe.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert. A threat has been reported at [LOCATION]. Lock down now. Get to a safe room, lock or block the door, and silence your phone. Stay there until police say it is safe.
• Email subject: LOCKDOWN: threat reported at [LOCATION]
• Email body: A threat has been reported at [LOCATION]. Follow your Run, Hide, Fight training. If you can't leave safely, get to a room that locks, turn off the lights, silence your phone and stay out of sight. Wait for police or an all-clear from us before you come out.

2. Bomb threat or suspicious package

• Text: EVACUATE [LOCATION] now. Possible threat being checked. Use the nearest exit, don't touch anything unusual, go to your meeting area.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert for [LOCATION]. Please evacuate the building now using the nearest exit. Do not touch or move any unusual items. Go to your assigned meeting area and wait for instructions.
• Email subject: EVACUATE: possible threat at [LOCATION]
• Email body: We've received a possible threat involving [LOCATION] and are evacuating while it's checked. Take your keys and phone, leave everything else, and don't touch or move unusual items on your way out. Go to your assigned meeting area. We'll send an update when we know more.

Severe weather and natural hazard templates

3. Tornado warning

• Text: TORNADO WARNING for [LOCATION]. Shelter now in an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows. Wait for the all-clear.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert. A tornado warning has been issued for [LOCATION]. Take shelter now in an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows. Stay there until you receive an all-clear.
• Email subject: TORNADO WARNING: take shelter at [LOCATION]
• Email body: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning that includes [LOCATION]. Go to your designated shelter area now, or the most interior room on the lowest floor, and stay away from windows. We'll send an all-clear when the warning ends.

For more on what to do before and during a tornado, Ready.gov's tornado guide is worth sharing with employees ahead of storm season.

4. Office closed for weather

• Text: [LOCATION] is closed today due to severe weather. Please don't travel to the office. Watch for an update before tomorrow.
• Voice: This is a message from your employer. [LOCATION] is closed today due to severe weather. Please do not travel to the office. We will send an update before tomorrow.
• Email subject: [LOCATION] closed today due to weather
• Email body: Due to severe weather, [LOCATION] is closed today. If you can work remotely, check with your manager. Stay off the roads if you can. We'll send an update before tomorrow on whether the office will open.

5. Earthquake check-in

• Text: An earthquake was felt near [LOCATION]. If you're inside, stay put unless the building is damaged. Be ready for aftershocks.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert. An earthquake was felt near [LOCATION]. If you are inside and the building is not damaged, stay where you are. Be ready for aftershocks.
• Email subject: Earthquake near [LOCATION]: please check in
• Email body: An earthquake was felt near [LOCATION]. If you're inside and see damage, smell gas or see fire, leave the building carefully and go to your meeting area. Otherwise stay where you are and be ready to drop, cover and hold on during aftershocks.

Building emergency templates

6. Fire and evacuation

• Text: FIRE reported at [LOCATION]. Leave now by the closest safe exit. Don't use elevators. Go to your assigned meeting area.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert. A fire has been reported at [LOCATION]. Leave the building now by the closest safe exit. Do not use elevators. Go to your assigned meeting area.
• Email subject: FIRE: evacuate [LOCATION] now
• Email body: A fire has been reported at [LOCATION]. If you're still in the building, leave now by the closest safe exit and don't use elevators. Go to your assigned meeting area and stay there until we send an all-clear. The evacuation map is attached.

7. Gas leak

• Text: GAS LEAK reported at [LOCATION]. Leave now. Don't flip switches or use anything that could spark. Go to your meeting area.
• Voice: This is an emergency alert. A gas leak has been reported at [LOCATION]. Leave the building now. Do not turn lights or equipment on or off. Go to your assigned meeting area.
• Email subject: GAS LEAK: leave [LOCATION] now
• Email body: A gas leak has been reported at [LOCATION]. Leave the building now, and don't turn lights, switches or equipment on or off on your way out. Go to your assigned meeting area. Don't go back in until the gas company or fire department says it's safe and we send an all-clear.

8. Power outage

• Text: Power is out at [LOCATION]. Stay where you are unless told to leave. Use stairs, not elevators. We'll update you within 30 minutes.
• Voice: This is a message for staff at [LOCATION]. The power is out. Please stay where you are unless you are told to leave. Use stairs, not elevators. We will send an update within 30 minutes.
• Email subject: Power outage at [LOCATION]
• Email body: Power is out at [LOCATION] and we're working with the utility to learn more. Save your work if you can, use stairs instead of elevators, and stay where you are unless you're told to leave. If you're stuck or need help, reply to this message. We'll send an update within 30 minutes.

This one usually isn't sent as an emergency, so there's no safety question. Not every alert needs a headcount, and asking when nobody is in danger teaches people to ignore the question when it matters.

IT and business disruption templates

9. System outage

• Text: We're aware of an outage affecting company systems. IT is working on it. No need to report it. We'll update you within 1 hour.
• Voice: This is a message from IT. We are aware of an outage affecting company systems. Our team is working on it, so there is no need to call the help desk. We will send an update within one hour.
• Email subject: Systems outage: IT is working on it
• Email body: We're aware of an outage affecting company systems and our IT team is working on it. There's no need to call or submit a ticket. If you have urgent work, check with your manager about a workaround. We'll send an update within one hour.

Email may be one of the systems that's down. That's a good reason to send IT alerts by text, voice and desktop alert too, not by email alone.

10. Phishing attack in progress

• Text: SECURITY ALERT: a phishing email is going around the company. Don't open links or attachments in unexpected emails. If you clicked one, call IT now.
• Voice: This is a security alert from IT. A phishing email is being sent to employees. Do not open links or attachments in emails you were not expecting. If you already clicked a link or entered your password, contact IT right away.
• Email subject: Security alert: phishing email going around
• Email body: A phishing email is being sent to employees right now. Don't open links or attachments in any email you weren't expecting, even if it looks like it came from someone you know. If you already clicked a link or entered your password, contact IT right away. Reporting it fast is how we limit the damage, so please don't wait.

All-clear and recovery templates

11. All clear

• Text: ALL CLEAR at [LOCATION]. The situation is over and it's safe to return. Thank you for following instructions.
• Voice: This is an update for [LOCATION]. All clear. The situation is over and it is safe to return. Thank you for following instructions.
• Email subject: ALL CLEAR: [LOCATION]
• Email body: The situation at [LOCATION] is over and it's safe to return. Thank you for responding quickly. If you were hurt, saw something we should know about, or need support, please reply to this message or talk to your manager.

12. Building stays closed

• Text: [LOCATION] stays closed for now. Please work remotely until further notice. Tap the link for details and next steps.
• Voice: This is an update for staff at [LOCATION]. The building will stay closed for now. Please work remotely until further notice. Details and next steps have been sent by email and text.
• Email subject: [LOCATION] update: work remotely until further notice
• Email body: [LOCATION] will stay closed while we assess the building. Please work remotely until further notice and check with your manager about anything time-sensitive. We'll send an update as soon as we know when the office will reopen.

The all-clear is the template teams forget most often. Without it, people stay sheltered longer than they need to, or decide on their own that it's over.

How Castatus sends these templates for you

Templates only help if they're already in your notification system, approved, and quick to send under stress. In Castatus Crisis Manager, a template is a saved message you send as is, again and again, without editing the copy. Everything else is handled for you at send time.

• The location is filled in for you. When a template needs a location, Castatus won't send it until the sender picks the affected site from a list of your locations. It then fills in that site's name and address and sends only to staff there. Templates that don't need a location can go to everyone.
• The safety question is added for you. For emergency alerts, voice calls automatically end with "press 1 if you're safe, press 2 if you're not." Emails and desktop alerts show a Report your SafeStatus button. Texts link to a page with Yes and No buttons, and people can also just reply "safe" or "not safe" to the text. The SAFESTATUS® mobile app gives a one-tap Yes or No.
• One template, every channel. The same template goes out by text, voice call, email, the SAFESTATUS mobile app and Castatus Desktop Alerts at the same time.
• Long messages aren't a problem. Castatus fits as much as it can into one text message and adds a link to the full message on a web page, so a long template is never cut off.
• Attach what people need. The evacuation map, a shelter-in-place procedure or a form can go out with the alert. People open them from the same page where they report their status.
• Start from a template when it's not a perfect fit. A new cast can copy a template as its starting text, so you can adjust it for something unusual without writing from scratch.

As replies come in, they land in the Crisis Manager Inbox, where your team can see who's safe, who needs help, and who hasn't answered yet.

Comparing systems? Our mass notification buyer's checklist covers the questions to ask every vendor.

What to do this week

1. Pick your top five. Choose the five situations most likely at your sites. For most businesses that's fire, severe weather, a power outage, a security threat and the all-clear.
2. Adapt the wording. Copy the templates above and change them to match your actual procedures, meeting areas and shelter locations.
3. Get sign-off. Have safety, HR and leadership approve the wording now, so nobody is debating commas during an emergency.
4. Load them into your system. Save each one as a template, set the site-specific ones to require a location, and attach the evacuation maps and procedures that go with them.
5. Decide who can send. Make sure at least two people at each site can find and send every template.
6. Send a test. Send one template to a small group and check that it arrives on every channel and that replies come back.