What Every Emergency Manager Needs to Know About Emergency Alerts & Warnings
BES, the University at Albany, and FEMA IPAWS hosted the Alerts & Warnings Research Roundup — a free virtual webinar on the social science behind effective emergency alerts. Topics covered include wildfire warnings, missing persons alerts, jargon, and the Message Design Dashboard.
Alerts & Warnings Research Roundup
From 2012-2022, only 8.5% of emergency alerts issued nationwide were complete and included the five essential elements social scientists have found are necessary to compel protective action.
This free virtual event, hosted by Bent Ear Solutions in support of the University at Albany and in coordination with FEMA IPAWS, uncovered insights from recent social science research on alerts and warnings.
What Was Covered
Effective Wildfire Alerts: Wildfires are one of the most commonly alerted hazards in the US, yet alert styles and formats vary greatly. This session covered the best ways to effectively alert communities ahead of destructive wildfires, along with insights from real-world messages.
Missing Persons Alerts: Industry-leading researchers and practitioners shared what makes a great missing persons alert.
Jargon: Unclear or misleading terminology remains part of many alerts issued today. This session covered how people react differently to alerts that include mystery phrases and what phrases to avoid to make messages clear for everyone.
Message Design Dashboard: Free resources are now available, rooted in research, to write more effective emergency alerts. Learn how social science research shaped an application and how FEMA's Message Design Dashboard (MDD) can help your organization write more effective emergency alerts.
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