[EAS] Hawaii - mandatory evacuation - was there EAS triggered?

[Harold Price]

At 08:20 AM 5/9/2018, Mike McCarthy wrote:
>This is a problem everywhere a FIPS code covers more than 400 sq. miles.

Yes. Because of the wide-area nature of broadcast, local emergencies 
have varying relevance to any given listener of a radio 
station.  Over-alerting will always occur.  The smaller the station 
footprint, and the larger the FIPS area, the more likely this will be.

In the near term, without a total redesign of EAS, the best we can 
hope for with polygons and CAP/EAS is to give the broadcaster the 
option of not playing an alert for a distant part of a large FIPS 
area where none of the stations's listeners are in the target area.

I made some recommendations in a post a few months ago, that for 
voluntary alerts where the CAP polygon is available, an EAS 
Participant should be able to volunteer to carry an alert within its 
footprint, and decline to carry an alert outside its area.  This of 
course does not apply to alerts with no polygon, LP stations that 
might need to overalert to fill in a chain (for states that use 
chains), etc.  I also think, again for voluntary alerts only, such an 
action is permitted by the rules.  The state plan should be updated 
to further define expectations for EAS participants in their area.

Reading polygons should not be mandatory.  Some EAS participants have 
complex systems where precise geolocation information can't be passed 
through.  And I'm not talking about adding polygons to non-CAP EAS so 
that end-user devices can receive it.  This is a proposal that only 
covers a problem we have (overalerting in large FIPS areas) that can 
be addressed within the confines of the current EAS protocol.

Allowing this would serve the public good, as stations might then be 
more willing to carry geo-relevent alerts, rather than avoid carrying 
alerts altogether for a neighboring FIPS area that they only serve a 
small part of.

As to how one describes the area in a manner which John and Jane Q 
Public will understand when spoken to aurally - hopefully, in the 
same way radio news does every day, and reverse 911 messages, and 
other non-pictorial media - imperfectly, but far better than an entire county.

Some recent examples from actual CAP/EAS messages that attempt to 
describe a polygon:

Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens Subdivision evacuation ordered 
due to volcanic eruption.

CCSO ordered Go for an immediate evacuation of All Mosqui Ranchettes, 
Starlight Pines, Clear Creek Pines, Tamerron Pines, Ponderosa Pine, 
Timber Ridge, and Pine Canyon. Go North on AZ87.

Coconino County Sheriffs Office requesting evacuations within 1 mile 
of e woodlands ranch rd and state route 64. With in two miles be 
ready to evacuate. Fire is headed north east.

Residents of Wade's trailer park in Laramie, WY are advised to 
evacuate do to uncontrolled fire conditions. Housing available at 
Albany County Fairgrounds.

An evacuation is being ordered for Bluewater Acres due to an 
approaching wildfire. If you reside in Bluewater Acres, please 
proceed north toward I40 immediately. A shelter is being set up at 
Red Rock Park in Gallup for those needing a place to shelter.

As to how to tell an out-of-towner that they are driving into 
danger?  That's a problem that a simple aural message can't always 
handle - but highway signs and smartphone navigation can.  Defense in depth.

Harold