Send clear client status notices during earthquake disruption

Report the business impact, not the disaster

Clients need to understand what has changed in their service: campaigns paused, appointments affected or response capacity reduced. An agency status notice should not become a news bulletin, earthquake forecast or assessment of local conditions. Publish only operational facts the team has verified.

Keep public safety instructions separate. Link to official earthquake guidance and defer to relevant local authorities rather than describing evacuation, rescue or building conditions. Ready.gov's earthquake information is a general reference; it does not replace the instructions applying to a particular location.

Use a stable message structure

A useful notice states the affected service, current action, available contact route and next update point. Distinguish an update commitment from a restoration promise. For example, saying that a further status message is planned after a review does not mean normal delivery will resume then.

Use a named organizational sender and consistent wording across email, account portals and status pages. Do not include employee welfare details or describe a supplier as responsible before the cause is confirmed. Review client contracts for communication commitments, while avoiding broad claims about legal obligations across different markets.

Draft an illustrative notice worksheet

Complete this worksheet before writing the message. A suggested example is: 'Outbound activity for your account is paused while we review staffing and system availability. Existing appointments are being checked. Please use the designated account inbox for service questions. We will provide another status update after the next operational review.'

• Audience: active clients whose campaigns or appointments are affected.
• Verified impact: sending paused; individual appointment status still being checked.
• Unknown: restart date; do not replace uncertainty with a guessed deadline.
• Owner: account lead drafts; available continuity approver checks.
• Distribution record: channel, timestamp, version and next review trigger.

Close the loop without sales pressure

Record which clients received the notice and which channels failed. A delivery confirmation is not proof that someone has read or understood it. Use an agreed alternate business channel only where necessary, and avoid repeatedly contacting people who may also be affected.

When service changes, publish a new version rather than silently replacing a previous commitment. Explain what is available now, what remains limited and how appointments will be handled. Ready.gov's continuity planning resources support organized communication and testing; the suggested notice structure is an agency workflow, not a regulatory template or a claim of emergency-management expertise.