[EAS] Public Warnings

[Dave Kline]

Good article Sean. Thanks for posting.

I think the last sentence sums up the problem very well.
"I think people also need to be careful to not rely solely on their mobile device for early warning."

To take it a step further, I think people should not rely as heavily on something of which they have so little knowledge but depend on so much. There are always going to be those unexpected things that pop up out of nowhere, tornados, earthquakes and the like. But if people were paying more attention, especially to the long form disasters that often seem to be at the center of these discussions, they may save themselves in spite of the government entities and the private sector. 

All the tools in the tool box are worthless if the materials you use to build the house aren't suitable to support the structure.

Our first wireless alert warned that the British were coming. The end result was a nation built upon differences, freedom and choice. (At least that's what they tell us in school.) We have a patchwork of different alerting systems, and have the freedom to pay attention to them or choose to turn them off. It's what has helped us become what we are today. But the good that comes from our patchwork society can also have disaster sewn into the fabric.
Those who issue alerts should educate themselves about what the system is capable of doing. Even more importantly, those on the receiving end need to fully understand how frail the system can really be, especially when you need it the most. We all need to understand that our safety is ultimately in our own hands.
If you knew you might not get a second chance, you might take more care with the chance you have.
The private sector and government jurisdictions need to stop making claims they can't keep when it comes to alerting. The people need to understand that those folks may have good intentions and will hopefully do their best. But in the end there are no promises, and perhaps no second chances.

On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 2:57 PM Sean Donelan <sean at donelan.com> wrote:
>On Tue, 1 Sep 2020, Bill Ruck wrote:
>> So IMHO the answer to public warnings is All of the Above.  We don't need
>> just a hammer, or just a screwdriver, etc.

>Money, money, money....

>In many jurisdictions, the public alert/warning officer is just "other
>duties as assigned"...
>https://onezero.medium.com/our-emergency-alert-systems-rely-on-an-overlapping-mess-of-privatized-services-8f71a686137e
>Our Emergency Alert Systems Rely on an Overlapping Mess of Privatized
>Services
>September 2, 2020
>Sarah Emerson
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Dave Kline - Solder Jockey
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