During imminent threat emergencies, an authorities' ability to communicate with the public and provide them with timely and accurate information is imperative. Wireless emergency alerts (WEAs) sent via the integrated public alert and warning system are short message alerts that authorities can send to devices in specific geographical regions during times of imminent threat. These messages give authorities the ability to distribute important information in a timely manner to those who need it most. In September 2016, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to strengthen the WEA system, including increasing the character limit of WEAs from 90c. to 360c. for 4G LTE and newer devices. Implemented in December 2019, the additional 270c. provide authorities with an opportunity to share supplemental and clarifying information in WEA messages. Current research regarding best practices for creating short message alerts was reviewed and analyzed to develop evidence-based guidance, and in turn, create a tool that, with only fifteen user-prompts, can be used to rapidly create effective and informative wildfire evacuation messages of up to 360c. A message creator can use this tool by selecting or entering responses to each of the fifteen prompts. This article presents a bridge between social science research on short message alert effectiveness and the practical generation of messages during imminent threat emergencies. Future research is proposed to develop this tool for purposes other than evacuation, for hazards other than wildfires, and for systems other than WEA (e.g., mass notification systems).
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Technical Investigation of the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado identified that no widely accepted standards exist for emergency communications in tornado events and more specifically, policies involving the use of communication systems to alert the public in advance of tornadoes.This study is designed to develop evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts, including both alerts provided by outdoor siren (warning) systems and "short messages" sent by social media or other short message service (SMS) platforms. It is the hope that this guidance can eventually be used as input for standardization, through codes and standards, of the procedures and practices for outdoor siren systems and short message alerts used by communities across the United States. Standardization of emergency communication policies and procedures could occur at multiple levels, including among multiple jurisdictions, state-wide, regionally, or even nationally.This document focuses on short message alerts, specifically presenting a review of platforms, usage and public response. First, an overview is provided on the current status of short message alerts in the United States, i.e., the current short message technology available and the ways in which this technology is used in communities across the United States. Second, a review of the literature is presented on the ways in which people respond to short message alerts and the current limitations of these systems in light of these findings. This document concludes with a discussion on the key findings and recommendations from the literature on the ways in which to improve current short message alerts, based on the methods by which people receive and process these types of alerts. Following this work, a document will be developed to provide the overall evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts.
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