[EAS] concerning the request for new weather Event Codes

[Botterell, Arthur@CalOES]

One other consideration, Sean, is that single-mode warnings are notoriously less effective than warnings delivered over multiple channels.  So the horses-for-courses logic can't be applied too rigorously without compromising warning effectiveness.  It's a balancing act.

Another complication is that many jurisdictions are stuck in the Civil Defense assumption that public warning in general and EAS in particular will originate from a bunker... er, sorry, an EOC somewhere.  In modern reality most requirements for public warning arise in the field, typically with an Incident Commander or equivalent.  Most of those folks in most jurisdictions haven't been trained or empowered to use WEA, much less EAS.  So it should be no surprise that when they need to influence public behavior they use the tools they have at hand... sirens and PAs and lots of shouting.

Of course I have no idea how Dallas operates, so these are general observations and shouldn't be misinterpreted as criticism of how the folks down there managed a very bad night.

Art