Wireless Emergency Alerts for weather events generally fall into the domain of the National Weather Service (for a select set of hazards - see here for the list). For unfamiliar hazards, and those that are not messaged by NWS, local alerting authorities can step in to help communities understand what to expect and how to prepare. In this case, we have three examples of messages sent for winter weather that affected the Atlanta urban area. Let's take a look.
In the first message, the sender includes the message source, the hazard in CAPS, and the potential impacts that are likely to result from the winter storm, which will occur on Friday. Recommendations are made to PREPARE for possible power outages by gathering food and water. This message also directs receivers to social media, where they will post updates as they are available. Missing from this message is information about the specific area of impact, but we can assume that it is widespread across the county and region.
The second message also includes the name of the sender and the hazard in CAPS with a list of potential impacts. It indicates that the severe winter weather is expected to occur on Friday and instructs receivers to GET READY and to STAY INFORMED by following updates on social media.
The third message is a little different. It's much shorter and it lacks the details that were included in the other examples. There is no indication of who is sending the message; no details about what kind of hazardous winter weather might occur or how it will impact message receivers. It doesn't include information about the kind of preparations that might be necessary and there is no detail about where to get more information.
Notably, those at the Editor's Desk for the Warn Room received all three of these messages as texts from people who were their lucky recipients. The first two were accompanied by smiling emojis, stars, and a trophy. The third included the message: "here's a horrendous WEA alert to add to your collection" because it was incomplete and provided little detail for follow-up.
We've pointed out many times the importance of a complete message - it reduces information seeking, which, under time sensitive conditions, can result in delayed action. Complete messages also affect understanding (who is it from, what is the hazard, what could it do to me, what are the potential impacts, who will be affected, when and where, and what do I do to protect myself), as well as personalization that can motivate action.
Writing a complete message can be difficult if you haven't had the training or don't have the tools. Fortunately, the tools exist and so does the training.
One of the simplest ways to learn about writing effective, evidence-based messages is to continue reading The Warn Room blog, where we show you how to improve messages. A second way is to download The Warning Lexicon (supplemental material). It includes message contents for 48 hazards. The content in the Warning Lexicon has been validated by subject matter experts and tested with members of the public through federally funded experiments. The Warning Lexicon is free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning message. A third way to write complete and structure warning messages is to use the FEMA-IPAWS Message Design Dashboard. You can access it here: IPAWS Alerting Authority ATP.
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