Results from the National Survey on the October 2023 National Test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) System
Date: |
Aug 28, 2024 |
Time: |
2:30–3:30 p.m. EDT |
How to Join: |
Details on attending the event will be sent to registered attendees. |
You will receive event details via email after you register.
The United States uses a complex set of emergency alert tools run by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private companies, to alert the public to urgent situations. At the federal level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). IPAWS includes the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, a national public warning system that targets and localizes alerts to mobile devices. The WEA system shares current and critical information between emergency managers and their communities via message to mobile devices that include national alerts, imminent threat alerts, public safety alerts, and AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alerts. WEA uses cellular broadcast technology to send messages via cell towers, which send messages specifically to cell phones within the immediate impact area. IPAWS engaged the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center to assess how well the U.S. public received the 2023 nationwide test of the WEA system.
Andrew Parker and Rachel Steratore will summarize results of a large, national survey fielded to the American public immediately following the nationwide test, including how well the U.S. public received the test alert, awareness of the WEA system, and rates of opting out of types of emergency alerts. Findings speak to how well the system is serving different populations, identify opportunities to work with carriers and device manufacturers on system implementation, and assess regional challenges in system participation.
Please register online to attend. Contact HSRD@rand.org with questions about the event.
This research was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Office and conducted in the Disaster Management and Resilience Program of the RAND Homeland Security Research Division (HSRD).
