PROTECTING AMERICA THROUGH PUBLIC ALERT & WARNING
NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE APRIL 6, 2004
Kenneth B. Allen Executive Director Partnership for Public Warning
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC WARNING
A non-profit, public-private partnership Established in January 2002 by leaders of the emergency management community Participants include emergency managers and warning experts from local and state government, the private sector, non-profit community and federal government
Provides a collaborative forum where all the stakeholders are working together
PUBLIC WARNING
Objective: (1) alert people at risk (2) provide timely, relevant & accurate information (3) protective actions The actions people take Save lives, reduce property losses & speed economic recovery
Success: Benefits:
PUBLIC WARNING IS A SYSTEM – NOT A TECHNOLOGY
Data collection & analysis Decision to issue a warning Framing the warning Disseminating the warning Public reception Validation Take Action
CURRENT US PUBLIC WARNING CAPABILITY
MULTIPLICITY OF THREAT SCALES: air quality, asteroids, computer viruses, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, nuclear plants, terrorism, tsunamis, volcanoes, winds DISSEMINATION CHANNELS: NWR, EAS, TV & radio, local systems
STATE OF US PUBLIC WARNING CAPABILITY
Fragmented Inconsistent scales Lack of standard terminology Voluntary Dependent on TV & Radio Lack of clear policies & procedures Fail to warn those with special needs Lack of funding Little public awareness No strategy or vision Lack of leadership
THE BOTTOM LINE
Existing systems fail to reach many people at risk and reach many people not at risk. When an emergency happens, many individuals fail to get timely information, fail to understand or act on the information and don’t know where to go for additional information
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC WARNING CAPABILITY
All hazard Take advantage of existing assets (e.g. NWR & EAS) Doesn’t put anyone at risk Supports multiple warning sources Individually addressable Only authorized officials may enter warnings Enhance local control Secure, redundant & available 24/7 Open, non-proprietary architecture Uniform terminology Clear & consistent messages Support multiple languages & users with disabilities Available during power outages Multiple distribution channels using multiple technologies Easily understood by public
CREATING AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC WARNING CAPABILITY
Not a technology problem
Solution requires:
Collaboration & consensus Enhancement of legacy systems Standards Policies & procedures Education Leadership
PPW ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Educated senior government officials & the public Homeland Security Advisory System
Emergency Alert System
Common Alerting Protocol National strategy & plan for improving public warning www.PartnershipforPublicWarning.org
ESTABLISH A NATIONAL GOAL
Create a national public warning system that will provide people at risk during times of emergency with timely and useful information that will enable them to take appropriate actions to save lives and property.
THE CHALLENGE
To collaborate on the development of a national public warning capability that will, during times of emergency, get the right information to the right people at the right time, regardless of their location, the time of day or night and any special needs.