NWS Working to Improve Disaster Warnings
Emergency alerts and disaster warnings have improved over the years, but there is still a huge opportunity to improve the technology even further. The good news is that multiple federal authorities, including the National Weather Service (NWS), are actively working on improving the effectiveness of the technology.
Recent Improvements Implemented for Disaster Warnings
In a nutshell, there are various initiatives happening that aim to incorporate predictive technology into alert functionality so that disaster warnings can be deployed more rapidly and more relevantly. Another objective is to provide more detailed information about a particular event so that alert recipients have a greater understanding of what to do.
One specific enhancement was rolled out by the NWS in Sept. 2018. This enhancement changes flash flood warnings by specifically mentioning the threat as either “considerable” (calls for urgent action to protect lives and property) or “catastrophic” (flood levels are rising to rare levels and could result in a disaster). The designation depends on a number of factors, including local weather radar and evidence of tornado debris. In addition to being more specific, these customized emergency alerts are also shorter and more to the point.
Several months after these information enhancements were deployed, the NWS took additional steps to reduce the frequency of the alerts. All told, the NWS’ disaster alerts were scaled back by 90%, so that only recipients in the at-risk areas would receive them. This step was taken to reduce “response fatigue” so people don’t tune them out. Alerts for people outside of the at-risk areas are still available via other mechanisms, but will not be sent to cellphones. Similar enhancements have been made to tornado warnings.
Future enhancements from the NWS as well as other agencies will likely focus on providing more detailed instructions on what to do, not just the potential magnitude of the event. Interviews and fact-finding techniques are central to this process. Multiple federal agencies have been conducting post-disaster interviews to try and get a better understanding of how disaster warnings can cut through the noise, as well as the type of information to convey, so that these learnings can be factored into subsequent enhancements.
