Leveraging Emergency Notification Alerts

INTRODUCTIONThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal organizations such as the National Weather Service (NWS) have access cell phone alert system. But this access requires local and state municipalities to become accredited by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) before they can be authorized to use the system. Due to the delay in the accreditation process, local/state governments and even education centers have started or created their own emergency alert systems with mobile and internet capabilities. This creates a redundant system, which is can be beneficial but can also lead to information fratricide by reporting inconsistencies or over-reporting. This redundant system also has drawbacks; for example, subscribers may use a particular service from a school or town, but an adjacent school or town reports an incident using a different service. In the end, the subscriber concerned does not receive a notification. For a multitude of reasons, local and state government officials must be accredited and have access to transmit and notify citizens on the national alert system. This essay discusses the background and creation of the national alert system, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), and the need for local and state government officials and emergency managers to access and transmit on the IPAWS.Background and Creation of the National Alert SystemThe National Weather Service (NWS) frequently sends out Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) about "weather watches, warnings and advisories from both the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Atom Syndication Format (ATOM) through the Emergency Alert System (EAS). "[1] According to the NWS these alerts can be "used to launch Internet messages, trigger alerting systems, feed mobile device (e.g., cell phone/smart phone and tablet) applications, news feeds, television text captions, highway sign messages, and synthesized voice over automated telephone calls or radio broadcasts. "[2] They can also be specifically targeted to mobile devices operating in a certain geographical location or receiving signals from certain cell towers.Rather than build a new communication platforms, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leveraged and improve the existing National Weather Service (NWS) system for emergency management purposes. On June 26, 2006, Executive Order 13407 authorized the Secretary of Homeland Security to:Establish or adopt, as appropriate, common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public alert and warning system to enable interoperability and the secure delivery of coordinated messages to the American people through as many communication pathways as practicable, taking account of Federal Communications Commission rules as provided by law. [3]This Executive Order created the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) program, which enables the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) DHS to alert and warn US citizens, protecting property and preserving life through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)With the recent increase in violent crimes inflicting mass casualties or panic, destructive weather incidents, or other hazardous emergencies, disseminating timely and accurate information must be the responsibility of local government officials. Currently, both local and state government organizations must be authenticated by FEMA before they can use the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) or transmit using its software. "As of January 2013, 93 public-alerting authorities, 18 including those in at least 35 states, have gone through the necessary authentication steps with FEMA to use IPAWS and an additional 110 alerting authorities have applications in process. "[4]During the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting and the Boston Marathon Bombing tragedies, local government, law enforcement and emergency management officials were able to use IPAWS to send out some critical public information. …