During an emergency, a user initiates an emergency trigger, which puts an electronic device into an emergency mode. The device then emits an emergency sound wave having one or more particular characteristics. In one embodiment, the emergency sound wave is inaudible. The device may then emit an audible alert. Nearby devices that detect the emergency sound wave may then, once they validate the emergency sound wave emit their own emergency sound waves, and emit their own audible alerts. This process allows the original alert to be propagated to many devices in the vicinity creating, in effect, a mesh of alerted devices.