Rethinking the Emergency Alert System

Thursday, 1:30-3:00 p.m., Fir

During an emergency, government officials must quickly provide the public with life-saving information. This is traditionally done through the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which uses television and radio to deliver critical messages. But in a world of the Internet, e-mail, cell phones, and PDAs, is the traditional EAS sufficient?

In 2006, Executive Order 13407 mandated the creation of “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.” FCC rulemaking, congressional legislation, and trial projects followed, including IPAWS, which expands the traditional EAS to include modern technologies. This session will assess the status of all-hazards warning system efforts. How can social science inform this effort? What's missing from these technology programs?

Dennis Mileti, Moderator
California Seismic Safety Commission

Susan King, Panelist
Independent Researcher

Jeannette Sutton, Panelist
University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center

Art Botterell, Panelist
Contra Costa County, California, Community Warning System

Michael Lindell, Panelist
Texas A&M University