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Many Coloradans might never receive a critical alert during a disaster, and even when they do, the information may be hard to understand. As social scientists studying emergency alerts and ways to improve public access to crucial information, we found that only 40% of Colorado residents have opted into local emergency alerts. Additionally, many alerts are not fully informative, translated into languages spoken by recipients, or formatted for those with vision or hearing impairments.
A decentralized alert system
Alerts can come from various sources like 911 centers, weather forecasters, and others, and may be transmitted via emails, text messages, sirens, radio broadcasts, or other means. Our study, mandated and funded by Colorado House Bill 23-1237, focused on alert systems in the wake of the Grizzly Creek Fire (2020) and Marshall Fire (2021).
These fires highlighted issues with emergency alerts, including delayed and inconsistent notifications and a lack of multilingual options. For example, despite census data showing that 10% of Eagle and Garfield counties speak Spanish at home, most fire-related alerts were only available in English.
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Legislation was enacted to make emergency alerts accessible to all, particularly those with disabilities or limited proficiency in English.
Disabilities often lead to higher disaster death rates due to inadequate planning and systems that don’t account for specific needs. Our study interviewed 222 officials who send alerts and conducted a statewide survey to understand the challenges of providing alerts across Colorado.
A patchwork system
Colorado does not have a uniform alert system; local areas determine their own methods. Some alerts require people to opt in, meaning individuals must sign up to receive notifications. Neighboring counties often use different systems, requiring multiple registrations for travel or recreation. Examples include Everbridge and CodeRed.
Registering for these systems can be a barrier, especially for those with limited English proficiency or disabilities who may not understand the systems available to them or are wary of providing personal information. Alerts may only be offered in English depending on location.
Another system is “opt out,” where people receive alerts by default unless they turn them off. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) use cellphone towers to broadcast messages, reaching phones within a specific area. WEAs target regions needing evacuation or Amber Alerts.
There are no national standards for opt-in or opt-out systems, leading to inconsistencies in alert distribution.
Lack of resources limits alerting authorities
Authorities often want to provide multilingual and accessible alerts but face resource constraints due to time, staff, money, or training. Sixty-four percent of surveyed authorities lacked funding to make alerts more inclusive. More than a third didn’t know if their systems could provide alerts in languages other than English or for people with disabilities.
An alert is complete if it includes source, hazard, location, and time information. Recent research found that fewer than 10% of all Nationwide Wireless Emergency Alerts from 2012 to 2022 were complete.
The Message Design Dashboard, developed by one of us (Micki Olson), helps authorities craft clear and comprehensive emergency messages. Fifty-six out of 64 counties in Colorado are Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) authorities, allowing them to send alerts across multiple platforms simultaneously. This can improve alert access but is limited due to resource constraints.
Alert systems were not built with accessibility
Most alert systems lack accessible options like video or image features. People who are blind or have low vision need text-speech features enabled on their phones in advance. WEA only allows alerts in English or Spanish, and plans for multilingual expansion are on hold for unclear reasons. Some counties can make alerts available in additional languages but most cannot.
Almost 900,000 Coloradans speak a language other than English, and more than 230,000 have difficulty comprehending English.
Where do we go from here?
Events like the Palisades, Eaton fires, and floods in Kerr County highlight how critical it is that timely and accessible alerts reach everyone, especially vulnerable individuals. Improving these systems requires action from federal and local governments to allocate funds for updates and standardization, implement training, and ensure effective and inclusive alerts.
Authorities should partner with trusted community organizations to reach diverse audiences. Researchers can identify better ways to tailor systems to meet community needs. Individuals should learn about and sign up for alerts by visiting local government websites or searching online using “emergency alerts” followed by their county or city name.
Improving emergency alert systems is crucial, and everyone from individuals to local governments has a role in making these systems more effective and accessible.
