Federal Initiatives in Public Warning

1
Federal Initiatives in Public Warning

• A brief on the context

Presented by Art Botterell to the California
Governors Office of Emergency Services / Public
Utilities Commission workshops, August 2007
2
NSTC Report Effective Disaster Warnings

• Published November 2000
• Survey of prior social science on warning
  effectiveness
• Recommendations for warning message content
  (directly informed CAP)
• Importance of coordinated use of multiple warning
  technologies

3
Partnership for Public Warning

• National non-profit organization
• Local, state and federal officials
• Leading academics
• Broadcast, electronic and Internet companies
• Strategic Plan (2003) recommends
• Identify lead federal agency for public warning
• Develop standard protocol and terminology
• Develop standards of practice for warning

4
Common Alerting Protocol

• Technical (XML) specification adopted by
  international standards body in 2004, refined in
  2005
• CAP provides
• Template for effective warning messages
• Mechanism for sharing warnings between different
  technologies
• Precise geographic targeting of alerts
• Multi-lingual capability

5
CAP in Contra Costa County
6
National Weather Service

• All-Hazards Emergency Message Collection System
  (HazCollect) using CAP
• To bring non-weather warnings into the NWS
  dissemination architecture
• Weather Radios
• Weather Wire
• EAS in some areas
• Initial trials in October 2006
• Full deployment slated for fall 2007

7
Emergency Alert System

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued in
  2004
• Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2005
• Report Order 07-109 in 2007
• Specifies use of Common Alerting Protocol
• Includes wireline video providers in EAS
• Adds must carry for governors alerts

8
Executive Order 13407 (June, 2006)

• Mandates an effective, reliable, integrated,
  flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and
  warn the American people in situations of war,
  terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other
  hazards to public safety and well-being
• Directs DHS to
• establish or adoptcommon alerting and warning
  protocols, standards, terminology, and operating
  procedures
• ...adapt the distribution and content of
  communications on the basis of geographic
  location, risks or personal user preferences
• include the capability to alert and warn all
  Americans, including those with disabilities and
  those without an understanding of the English
  language

9
IPAWS Program

• DHS/FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning
  System
• Multiple components include
• Upgrades to key EAS facilities (Primary Entry
  Point stations and satellite distribution
• Digital EAS over public TV
• NWS HazCollect
• Weather Radios for schools
• Cellular alerting

10
WARN Act of 2006

• Warning, Alert and Response Network
• Mandates establishment of cellular alerting
  service nationwide
• Participation by cellular carriers voluntary
• Also funds
• Digital TV implementation for public TV stations
• Grants for outdoor alerting technologies for
  remote Alaskan villages

11
Cellular Alerting

• Commercial Mobile Service Alerting Advisory
  Committee
• Forty members from cellular industry, broadcast
  media, other industry, advocacy groups and local
  government
• Report due to FCC by October 10, 2007
• Two rounds of FCC rulemaking follow
• Cellular carriers opt-in or -out by Sept. 08

12
Public Safetys Priorities

• Dont complicate the task
• One system, all hazards, all disciplines
• Support and streamline the warning process
• Reduce obstacles to timely warnings
• Coordinate warning systems for effectiveness (and
  cost-effectiveness!)
• Future-proof the design
• Modularity Make the components plug-and-play
• Open standards Interoperability and market
  economies