In 2024, I was honored to be included with a handful of expert international crisis communicators in collaborating and writing a paper for Oxford, The Media and Early Warning Systems. In that paper, I posited the need for Early Warning Systems (EWS) communication strategies, tailored to meet the needs of individual communities.
Public Information Officers (PIOs) and EWS operators must work hand-in-hand to develop those strategies. PIOs have an obligation to understand incident management, operations, logistics, response, recovery, preparedness, planning, finance, and a myriad of other emergency management programs. But when it comes to EWS, PIOs have an obligation to not just understand, but rather, to engage, collaborate, and shape the environment. I have been consistent in my position that PIOs perform property-saving and lifesaving work. Nowhere is this more essential than in their role within EWS management.
The Complexity of EWS Management
EWS management is a complex array of components as well as horizontal and vertical intergovernmental coordination. Laypersons in the public think about the visual and audible component of the alert itself, the ultimate message or siren. PIOs must also be in tune with the components of detection, monitoring, decision-making, dissemination, and public response. Each of these can work well or poorly, independently, based on the experiences and investment of the full emergency management team.
The federal infrastructure in the U.S. is the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) disseminated through multiple channels: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), Emergency Alert System (EAS – TV/radio), NOAA Weather Radio, etc. Authorized public safety officials use IPAWS to send authenticated, geographically-targeted emergency alerts for natural and human-made disasters and other public safety information, helping to save lives and protect property by delivering critical messages to a wide audience via various devices.
The States and Tribes have the authority to decide when to issue alerts, or to escalate. The states register with IPAWS (or otherwise arrange access or adoption of local alerting systems), maintain upstream connections for data (weather forecasts, river gauge data, etc.), maintain sirens, local mass notification systems (opt-in text systems, sirens, digital signage), training & public education.
The local governments manage Wireless Emergency Alerts (to cell phones within area) both opt-in and non-opt-in. They manage sirens / loudspeakers, digital signs, outdoor mass notification, and neighborhood alert systems. They coordinate with local broadcast media (radio, TV), NOAA Weather Radio. And they maintain local social media, local governments’ websites, and SMS opt-in systems.
This vertical process requires several hands in the kitchen, each with their own appliances, utensils, recipes, training and experience. When you add in the advantages and disadvantages of opt-in and opt-out systems trying to integrate and reach everyone, there are countless ways for something to go wrong.
Human Behaviors That Cause Failures
And that is before we even add the element of human behavior both in sounding the alert and responding to the alert. On the surface, it seems simple. Incoming hazard, sound the alert. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Failure to Sound the Alert. There are a few human behavior factors that influence success or failure in sounding an alert, either at all or in a timely manner. One of them is organizational inertia, or bureaucracy. Alert warnings benefit from consistency but are reliant on inconsistent program structures. Another behavior that causes failure is a delay in decision. There could be many reasons for this – a lack of confidence, lack of verifiable information, fear of over-saturation, or simply bringing too many people into the decision-making process. Another failure results from an overreliance on opt-in systems. An alert may be sounded, but not all available alerts, limiting the receiving audience. Similarly, some communities fail to use all available channels. These can range from traditional and social media to billboards, loudspeakers and more.
Failure to Respond to the Alert. A common challenge is alert fatigue. We see this every year with hurricane warnings. When a community goes a few years with warnings without impact, they become desensitized. This often goes hand-in-hand with optimism bias where people remain confident (justified or not) that the threat won’t impact them or that they will be fine without taking action. In addition, there is an overwhelming lack of trust and skepticism in the government, now more than ever. A lack of clarity confounds the problem further. Beyond being alerted, people need to know precisely where to go and what to do. Another element is the time of day. People are less likely to receive and respond to alerts when sleeping. Language, culture, and disabilities make the challenge harder still. Information needs to be accessible in order to be actionable. Different socioeconomic and geographic constraints impede the reach and response to alerts.
Whether it comes to sounding or responding to alerts, PIOs have an enormous responsibility and essential ability to shape the environment and change every one of the human behaviors.
Public Information Officers Role
PIOs serve as the official voice for emergency managers at all levels of government. They have been trained to translate technical hazard information into clear, actionable guidance for the public (“Where to go,” “What to do,” “When to move”). PIOs are experts in dealing with timing, the balance between urgency and accuracy. PIOs manage official channels: press releases, social media, websites, and briefings – the many tools that augment and repurpose the original alert. PIOs liaise on a regular basis with their counterparts in other agencies (weather service, transportation, public safety) to get accurate data and agree on consistent key messages. They also liaise with private sector PIOs, broadening the scope and reach of the alert. PIOs are the conduit to the media. For all these reasons, it is paramount that PIOs coordinate with operations/emergency managers to know when warnings are issued or incoming, ensure consistency in messaging, and provide constructive feedback on clarity and community responses.
Media Role
The media the third leg of this stool. They amplify alerts through Traditional media (TV, radio, Internet). The media’s dissemination provides context, interpretation, visuals/maps, risk assessments. These are tools typical unavailable to a PIO, at least in terms of speed and quality. Other forms of media include social media outlets and local influencers, who can quickly share alerts, but can also spread misinformation if not coordinated. All of these media play a feedback role: raising awareness when systems fail, pushing accountability. Unfortunately, when EWS operator coordinate with the media, without including the PIO (which happens far too often) there becomes an unnecessary gap in information sharing and a lost opportunity in effective collaboration.
EWS Operators, PIOs and the Media Can Improve the Process
When they work together and collaborate, EWS Operators, PIOs and the Media can team up to improve a comprehensive and more effective early warning system by doing a few things well and together:
- Ensure Redundancy & Multiple Channels
- Pre-planning, Thresholds & Clear Trigger Protocols
- Regular Testing, Exercises, & Drills
- Message Design: Clarity, Actionable Instructions, Multi-lingual, Accessible
- Build Trust & Pre-Alert Education
- Ensure Equity & Reach
- Post-event Review & Learning
Emergency Managers, ask your EWS Operator and PIO if they even know each other’s names and phone numbers. If they do not (and many do not) then we are already working at a great disadvantage. Alerts and warnings save lives. PIOs do lifesaving work. Together, we can save more lives.
Much has been said about the tragedy of fatalities at Camp Mystic, Kerr County, TX in July 2025. During that same flash flooding, residents in Comfort, TX were warned and had no fatalities. That should be our goal. And we should use every tool in the box.
Dan Stoneking is the Owner and Principal of Stoneking Strategic Communications, the Author of Cultivate Your Garden: Crisis Communications from 30,000 Feet to Three Feet, the Founder and Vice President of the Emergency Management External Affairs Association, and an Adjunct Professor in the Communications Department at West Chester University.