[EAS] Blue Alerts Are Back

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 19 May 2017, Botterell, Arthur at CalOES wrote:
> While I agree on general principle, Sean, I think it's also the case 
> that the SAME Event Code list has been allowed, through a series of 
> well-intentioned but tunnel-visioned add-ons over many years, to be 
> inherently ambiguous and confused.  I'm afraid that on some points, like 
> this one, training could only acknowledge the LEW/Blue Alert overlap. 
> The confusion is real and I don't think  it can be "trained away."

In practice, local alert originators have had the same challanges writing 
CAP/IPAWS messages which allow free-text formatted messages.  Figuring out 
Urgency/Severity/Certainity as well as Event Category, Event Type, 
Response Type and so on is very confusing for originators.

Should a Blue Alert be a?

Category: Safety or Security or Rescue?

Response type: Avoid or Monitor or Prepare or Execute?

Severity: Extreme or Severe or Moderate?

Certainty: Observed or Likely?

Training is needed for many things, not because there are obvious answers, 
but because there are not obvious.  Training helps create consistency, and 
minimize confusion.

For example, the difference between National Weather Service Warning and 
Watch isn't obvious; but in the U.S. meteorologists have been teaching the 
puiblic for decades. Likewise, why is the color "Amber" associated with 
missing children alerts now?  Originally Amber was a person's name, but 
due to public messaging, i.e. training, the term Amber Alert now has 
meaning as an abducted child.

The color "Blue" is not associated with law enforcement everywhere.