The wildfires that erupted in New Mexico this past June were fast moving and extremely dangerous. Having messages prepared ahead of time to help local populations may be the difference between life and death. While we don't know if this message was templated prior to the event, it clearly follows the recommendations found in The Warning Lexicon and the structure of messages that are recommended in the Message Design Dashboard.
This message clearly states the name of the sender - Ruidoso Emergency Management, using a complete name rather than an acronym, such as REM, that could be unfamiliar to message receivers. It states the type of hazard and what the hazard is doing at the time of the message being sent. The sender emphasizes the need to Evacuate immediately! and gives clear instruction on roads to take to get out of the area of danger and where to go - the evacuation shelter that has been established. Clearly, Ruidoso Emergency Management is working with their partners and is prepared to support the population that will be moving quickly to get out of harms way.
The message reflects the gravity of the situation by explaining "do not delay leaving" because there is no more time available to gather belongings or to protect your home.
They also expect that people will be searching for more information and direct evacuees to a local radio station, 1490 AM, that we can expect to be a community media partner to Ruidoso (Sidenote: this is an excellent and important practice to establish before an event and to maintain during an event - AM radio and local media frequently serve as a lifeline for many people in their time of need)
In fewer than 360 characters, Ruidoso Emergency Management delivered key information about the hazard, the location, the time, the protective action guidance, and how to get updates. Using a few words in ALL CAPS to emphasize or help call attention to key words would likely improve visual search of persons reading the message, but its a really good message overall. Let's hope that lives were saved because of this good effort.
For more recommended contents, be sure to download The Warning Lexicon - it's free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning message.
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