Commercial Mobile Alert System: The Future of Emergency Warning Notification

In emergency situations it is critical to obtain accurate information quickly. As our technology has evolved, so have our abilities to communicate. In the 1950’s, the state of Kansas instituted a basic tornado alert system of fire station sirens to warn residents of small towns to take shelter, saving many lives. Recent emergency communication capabilities, especially in severe weather situations, have improved our access to the most current information. We are now able to track weather conditions on TV, the internet, and through text alerts on mobile devices. The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) will take warning systems to the next level by sending emergency alerts to mobile devices such as cell phones and pagers. Scheduled to become available in 2012, CMAS will send 3 types of alerts:

• Presidential alerts: This is any alert message issued by the President for local, regional, or national emergencies, and is the highest priority alert
• Imminent threat alerts: These are notifications of emergency conditions, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, where there is an immediate threat to life or property and action should be taken
• Child abduction emergency/AMBER alerts: These are alerts related to missing or endangered children due to an abduction or runaway situation

Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop Report on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps discusses the extensive body of knowledge regarding alerts and warnings and the public response and action before, during, and after emergency situations. Additionally, this book considers the many questions that arise when considering how to apply this knowledge to CMAS and more generally to the use of mobile and other new information and communications technologies for alerts and warnings.

Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery identifies promising applications of information and communication technology (IT) to disaster management, potential areas of research for improving the effectiveness of IT, and mechanisms that would enhance research, development, and deployment efforts. This book is intended to inform federal, state, and local policy makers and public safety and emergency management professionals about future opportunities for the application of IT to disaster management.

These books and others on the subject of communication and disaster management can inform discussion and provide information for decision-making.

	Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps This book presents a summary of the Workshop on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps, held April 13 and 14, 2010, in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Research Council’s Committee on…
	Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Information technology (IT) has the potential to play a critical role in managing natural and human made disasters. Damage to communications infrastructure, along with other communications problems exacerbated the difficulties in carrying out response and…
	Successful Response Starts with a Map: Improving Geospatial Support for Disaster Management In the past few years the United States has experienced a series of disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which have severely taxed and in many cases overwhelmed responding agencies. In all aspects of emergency management, geospatial data and tools…
	Tsunami Warning and Preparedness: An Assessment of the U.S. Tsunami Program and the Nation’s Preparedness Efforts Many coastal areas of the United States are at risk for tsunamis. After the catastrophic 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, legislation was passed to expand U.S. tsunami warning capabilities. Since then, the nation has made progress in several related areas on…
	Tools and Methods for Estimating Populations at Risk from Natural Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Crises Worldwide, millions of people are displaced annually because of natural or industrial disasters or social upheaval. Reliable data on the numbers, characteristics, and locations of these populations can bolster humanitarian relief efforts and recovery programs. …