California Emergency Alerts Still Need Refinement
There have been various alert warning systems launched in the last couple of years – including Facebook emergency alerts and visual emergency alerts – but California emergency alerts are arguably the most important of all due to the state’s growing number of forest fires. Unfortunately, in many parts of the state, the technology has not evolved or improved since it was initially launched.
The Problem with California Emergency Alerts
Some of the local California emergency alerts, including the Sonoma County-specific “SoCalAlert” system, have one glaring weakness – they do not reach wireless devices. Yes, you read that right – there are actually systems that only send alerts to landline phones! This is obviously a major shortcoming, since many residents have given up landline phones and rely solely on cell phones.
If you’re like me, the first question you are probably asking yourself is, why not include cellphone alerts? I mean, even in 2017 most people had a cell phone. Plus, there is a federal Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system that can be easily incorporated into state or region-specific systems.
The reason for this exclusion is that some officials were worried about the alerts being sent too broadly, potentially triggering widespread panic and evacuations that could lead to road blockages. So they utilized an opt-in model which, of course, resulted in few people opting in.
The good news is that the officials in charge of the SoCalAlert system have realized the error in their ways, and in 2018, Sonoma County’s Chairman of the Board of Supervisors vowed that going forward, its alert system would “wake up the world.” As such, at least 6 improvements have recently been implemented to the county’s system, including wireless alerts that do not require an opt-in, TV and radio warnings, social media postings, and sirens.
There’s no doubt about it, the vast network of California emergency alerts is critical to the safety of the state’s residents, but the effectiveness of these systems is only as good as the technology behind them. Lives are at stake, so the sense of urgency to optimize these systems must be bolstered.
