Warden's message 2008, Number 4

Embassy of the United States of America
Harare, Zimbabwe

2008 Warden Message, Number 4

March 19, 2008

We are pleased to announce a new way for you to receive warden messages from the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Harare via a Short Message Service (SMS) network. The text message will be sent to mobile telephones, informing the user that a new warden message has been issued (i.e., posted on the Embassy website and e-mailed to individual registrants) and providing important information in case of an emergency. Since some of our registrants do not have constant access to the Internet, this text-messaging capability enhances our ability to contact Americans in the event of an emergency.

A recent survey of our database showed that while almost all of our registered users have provided land line phone numbers, less than half of you have provided mobile phone numbers. This service has the potential to provide very timely, important information and we encourage you to subscribe as an emergency preparedness measure.   As with all personal information provided by American citizens, we consider privacy and information technology security to be a top priority. We will ensure that mobile phone numbers are protected properly as required by law.

If you would like to participate, please make sure that your cellular telephone supports the text messaging option and provide us with your phone number in the following format: (3-digit country code) (2 or 3-digit provider code) (6-digit number) without blank spaces, brackets or any other symbols.

For example, a cellular phone number in Zimbabwe will look like the following: 263912555123 or 26311222222 or 26323444555. Please send the phone number, along with your name, by e-mail to consularharare@state.gov.

For additional information on disaster preparedness, review the valuable information on our website at http://harare.usembassy.gov/evacuation_preparedness2.html, particularly the specific guidance on sheltering in place located on the far right of the page.

For more extensive information, please consult http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_1212.html which has links to many different U.S. government and private agencies.

As the Department of State develops information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its consular information program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.

American citizens can register their presence in Zimbabwe via the Internet at https://travelregistration.state.gov  or in person at the U.S. Embassy in Harare, located at 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue (Tel. 263-4-250-593/4/5).  In the event of an after-hours emergency, please call the above number and ask to be transferred to the duty officer.