OnStar Offers Crisis Assist To All Customers During Extreme Weather Emergencies

With the 2014 U.S. hurricane season approaching, OnStar has announced it will offer its Crisis Assist services to all of its customers regardless of their subscription plan in the event of an extreme weather emergency.

OnStar’s Crisis Assist services are activated by pushing either the red or blue button in your General Motors vehicle during an extreme weather event. OnStar advisors can help customers contact emergency responders and direct them to the subscriber’s exact vehicle location, suggest alternative evacuation routes or directions to hospitals or shelters and provide crisis information such as weather updates, hotel accommodations and reports on power outages and road closures. Advisors can also keep the subscriber contacted to family and friends, even if their phone service and power is out.

“At OnStar we are focused on providing our subscribers with centralized assistance in the midst of these incidents, while also relaying appropriate information to authorities,” said crisis incident manager at OnStar, Mary Ann Adams.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a 70 percent chance of eight to 13 named storms occurring during the season, three to six of which could become hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season typically runs from June 1-Nov. 30 and includes coastal regions of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Approximately 1.1 million OnStar subscribers live within this area.

OnStar says anyone living near or traveling to a hurricane-prone area should be prepared. The company has put together a useful Hurricane Preparation Checklist in addition to offering Crisis Assist services to all of its customers. The service covers severe weather emergencies like hurricanes and blizzards in addition to natural disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires.