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Volume 7, Issue 1 2010 Article 64

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

When Status Quo Becomes Obsolete: The Changing Use of Outdoor Warning Sirens

Adam Crowe, Community Action Planning Advisors

Recommended Citation: Crowe, Adam (2010) "When Status Quo Becomes Obsolete: The Changing Use of Outdoor Warning Sirens," Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 64. DOI: 10.2202/1547-7355.1758

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When Status Quo Becomes Obsolete: The Changing Use of Outdoor Warning Sirens

Adam Crowe

Abstract

Outdoor warning sirens have long been the primary emergency notification system utilized by emergency managers to warn their citizens about severe weather threats or other community hazards. They are based on the infrastructure and philosophy of civil defense sirens and are often distributed throughout communities based on budgetary availability and population density. Unfortunately, technology, human behavior, and social science have reached the point where sirens may no longer be capable of serving as the primary system for emergency warnings. This article evaluates and contrasts the cost versus benefit of various emergency warning strategies with a particular focus on the rise of systems with greater portability and mobility.

KEYWORDS: outdoor warning sirens, Emergency Alert System, mobility, portability, tornado sirens

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Outdoor warning sirens have long been the primary emergency notification system used by emergency managers to warn their citizens about severe weather threats or other community hazards. These sirens are based on the infrastructure and philosophy of civil defense sirens and are often distributed throughout communities in accordance with budgetary availability and population density. Unfortunately, technology, human behavior, and social science have reached the point where sirens may no longer be capable of serving as the primary system for emergency warnings.

According to one study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend 90 percent of their time inside, which severely limits the effectiveness of an outdoor warning notification system.1 This fundamental divide represents the most basic physical and metaphorical challenges to effective public notification through outdoor sirens. Although outdoor warning sirens create a “universal language” at first blush, this language does not necessarily mean the same thing for everyone in a given community. For instance, some local communities activate outdoor warning sirens for high-wind events and some do not (even if they are adjacent communities). This significantly challenges the accepted social science research that indicates that people are most likely to respond correctly if the warning mechanism contains directed protective information and is clear, consistent, and repeated.2

Moreover, outdoor warning sirens are costly to purchase and maintain by local jurisdictions. An average community might have sirens that are up to 2540 years old that could be replaced only with costs exceeding $20,000.3 Every community would also need multiple sirens to cover the entire municipal area (or at least areas identified as most populated or critical to the community). Moreover, because the sirens often stay dormant for the vast majority of the year, there is always a vulnerability that the sirens may fail to operate or act unpredictably.

Over the last decade—with specific focus on the last half of the decade— there has been an explosion in the availability and acceptance of equipment and technology that allows individual portability and mobility of information, services, and notification. This capability is based on global positioning systems (GPS) as well as on wireless, infrared, Bluetooth, and social media technology. Notification systems using this type of mobility and portability include the

1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality,” http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/insidest.html (accessed September 27, 2010). 2 John E. Farley, “Call-to-Action Statements in Tornado Warnings: Do They Reflect Recent Developments in Tornado-Safety Research?” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 25, no. 1 (2007): 136. 3 Ben Poston, “Some Areas Lack Tornado Sirens,” (Milwaukee) Journal Sentinel, January 22, 2008, http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29581894.html (accessed September 27, 2010).

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All-Hazard alert radios, cell phones, smartphones, and GPS devices. These systems are not only mobile but also, because of their relatively small size, extremely portable, which means they are often close to the owner rather than geographically limited to a home, building, or area, as is the case with outdoor warning sirens.

Within the United States, cell phone usage is between 75 percent and 82 percent,4 with 4.1 billion texts sent daily.5 Moreover, nearly one out of every five Americans—regardless of race or sex—maintain a cell phone only in their home or residence.6 Likewise, there are over 400 NOAA weather stations broadcasting to approximately 98 percent of the population.7 Maintaining this level of source diversity is critical to effective warning strategies because research has indicated that warning information received numerous times from multiple sources has a high impact on people’s risk perception related to the event.8 This was most recently confirmed by research at Georgia Tech that identified the need for multiple sources of emergency warning information in order for people with disabilities to respond correctly.9

Although not available to everyone, this type of mobility and portability makes emergency notification easier and often more effective than outdoor warning sirens regardless of the time or location. With systems that are location static (e.g., NOAA alert radios), notification and alert are available inside buildings and homes where people spend the overwhelming majority of their time. Likewise, cell phones are location dynamic and are often within close reach of the individual user. Combined, the portability and mobility of these types of systems ensure the ability to provide obtrusive alerts for people who are asleep, an ability that might not be possible from outdoor warning sirens.

This concept of creating a more dynamic and diverse emergency notification strategy that moves away from outdoor warning sirens as the primary function is not new. In 2005, in response to significant severe weather that caused the death of twenty-five residents living in a mobile home community, the state of Indiana passed a law requiring that all new manufactured homes come with

4 John Horrigan, “Mobile Access to Data and Information,” Pew Internet Study (2008), http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Mobile-Access-to-Data-and-Information.aspx?r=1 (accessed September 27, 2010). 5 Jennifer Van Grove, “WOW: 4.1 Billion SMS Messages Are Sent Daily” Mashable Blog (2009), http://mashable.com/2009/10/07/ctia-wireless-survey/ (accessed September 27, 2010). 6 Horrigan, “Mobile Access to Data and Information.” 7 Robert J. Kupec, “Tuning In: Weather Radios for Those Most at Risk,” Journal of Emergency Management 6, no. 4 (2008): 5155. 8 Farley, “Call-to-Action Statements in Tornado Warnings.” 9 Helena Mitchel et al., “Wireless Emergency Communications” (2009), http://www.wirelessrerc.org/about-us/projects/development-projects/d3-wireless-emergency- communications.html/?searchterm=emergency%20notification (accessed September 27, 2010).

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NOAA All-Hazard alert radios.10 Likewise, other communities have identified funding or grants to purchase weather radios for nearly all citizens in the given area.11 Lastly, many communities have also begun to institute various forms of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to send out emergency notifications to the growing number of citizens using these communication systems.12

Consequently, it is merely a matter of allowing this movement to shift from being localized to becoming industry-wide for it to truly be effective. For a comprehensive comparison of the various types of emergency notification systems, see Table 1.

This need for a more robust and effective national emergency warning strategy was also established by the Governmental Accountability Office’s (GAO) review report, Improved Planning and Coordination Necessary for Development of Integrated Public Alert and Warning Systems.13 While the title sounds as convoluted as the problem, the report clearly identifies a need for an updated overall strategy that fully implements technology and programmatic implementations that have been undermanaged (Emergency Alert System [EAS]) or underdeveloped (proposed Integrated Public Alert and Warning System [IPAWS]). The report noticeably charges the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator to improve emergency warning strategies through additional project development, testing, and increased project transparency.14

Embracing a comprehensive system heavily based on systems that are mobile and portable is not only potentially more operationally efficient, but also more cost-effective. As compared to the high costs related to purchasing and maintain outdoor sirens, the cost of NOAA All-Hazard weather radios is as low as $30, and the emergency text services cost as low as $10 per year.15 With this level of affordability, many smaller communities could provide greater coverage from emergency notification services rather than just outdoor warning sirens for similar or less cost based on the geographic range covered.

10 Kupec, “Tuning In.” 11 http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0808/542280.html (site no longer accessible). 12 Johnson County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, http://www.jocoem.org/links.shtml (accessed September 27, 2010). 13 U.S. Government Accountability Office, Improved Planning and Coordination Necessary for Development of Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (September 9, 2009), http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-834 (accessed September 27, 2010). 14 Ibid. 15 PrepareMetroKC, “Weather Radios Save Lives,” http://www.preparemetrokc.org (accessed September 27, 2010); “How WeatherCall Works,” http://www.weathercall.net/wc_whatisit.html (accessed September 27, 2010).

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Table 1: A Comparison of Emergency Notification Systems

System name Type Mobilitya Portabilitya Service purpose Implementer System

established Outdoor warning sirens Siren None None Outdoor notification Local 1950s National Warning System (NAWAS) Telephone None None Responder notification State and federal 1950s

Twitter Social media Yes Yes Universal notification Local 2006

Facebook Social media Yes Yes Universal notification Local 2004 SMS Text Notification Systemsb Text Yes Yes Universal notification Local 1992 Public Safety Communication Systemsb Telephone None Yes Universal notification Local and state 2000s Emergency Alert System (EAS) Alert radio None Yes Universal notification

Local, state, and federal 1997

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Integrated Yes Yes Universal notification

Local, state, and federal N/A

aFor the purpose of this comparison the distinction between mobility and portability is related to the dissemination capability of the emergency notification system. Specifically, mobility is based on the capability to receive emergency notification regardless of geographic location. Portability, allows the notification system to be moved and reprogrammed or designated for a new geographic position. This distinction is slight, but critical for this comparison. bThere are many companies that provide this messaging system for a wide range of fees.

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this issue has no clarity on a national level, but it has been addressed in various ways at the state and local levels. For instance, in Griffin v. Osage County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that “the dissemination of weather information by a government agency . . . is generally held to be a discretionary function,” which implies an unrestricted option to style and approach to emergency public notification. Conversely, entire states such as New Hampshire have passed laws establishing statewide emergency notification systems.16

Although sirens will most likely never be eliminated as a component of public emergency notification, it may be time for communities to reevaluate their philosophies for strategic emergency public information. For instance, are sirens the most efficient and cost-effective strategy for emergency public notification, or should the location and impact of sirens be modified to outdoor locations with high vulnerability (e.g., recreational parks and waterways)? Moreover, should secondary systems that allow for mobility and portability be provided (i.e., purchased) or supported (i.e., subsidized) within a selected area? This need for reevaluation is supported by research that indicates that improvements in notification lead times for warnings (and therefore in siren sounding times) do not show significant reduction in fatality and injury rates related to severe weather.17

Bold action and strong leadership will be necessary to adjust this industry philosophy to become more in line with currently available technology and to continue to use current research and communication techniques.

Unfortunately, recognizing the need to diversify public emergency warning strategies to include technology based on mobility and portability will not be easy or quick. Many communities have a significant commitment to the infrastructure and technology of outdoor warning sirens. However, with local economies and governmental budgets being restricted by the economic downturn, now is a pivotal time for local leadership to thoroughly evaluate warning strategies to ensure that future planning and implementation will result in the most effective strategy to keep local communities as safe as possible from severe weather and other community hazards.

16 State of New Hampshire, “Governor Lynch Signs Law Creating Emergency Notification System,” http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/news/2010/070710-emergency-notification.htm (accessed September 27, 2010). 17 Kevin M. Simmons and Daniel Sutter, (2006). “Improvements in Tornado Warnings and Tornado Casualties,” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 24, no. 3 (2006), 351369.

Legal requirements must also be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of outdoor warning sirens versus other mechanisms. Unfortunately,

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