top trends in critical communications · warning system, lrads broadcast siren tones to alert the...

TOP TRENDS IN CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONSReach, Reliability and Speed for Public Warning Systems, Mass Notification and Emergency Response

Table of ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Trend One: Sirens are Being Replaced by Smart Acoustic Devices .......................................................... 4

Trend Two: One System to Rule them All ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Trend Three: Digital Isn’t the Total Solution .................................................................................................................................... 6

Trend Four: Critical Communications Over Social Media is the New Normal ............................. 7

Trend Five: Speed Saves Lives ........................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Trend Six: Public-Private Partnerships Strengthen Community Capabilities ............................... 9

Case Study: Mill Valley, CA ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

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TOP TRENDS IN CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS 2

IntroductionThe world is changing. Data driven. Integrated. Mobile. Automated. Augmented. We now live in a connected world where people obtain information via mobile devices, creating new expectations about the need to receive information—in any situation.

Coupled with these changes is the rise in critical situations and events as a result of increasing populations, shrinking resources, geo-political uncertainty and climate change. The need to distribute clear, life-saving communications during critical events is more important than ever. Yet, recent events have shown us devastating examples of people not getting the critical information they need when they need it.

National and regional governments are taking notice. The EU recently made it mandatory for all member states to deploy or modernize their public warning systems within three to five years. The systems need to deliver critical communications over mobile phone networks to people located in areas of an ongoing crisis or pending disaster. Other jurisdictions in Asia and the Americas are expected to pass similar mandates in the next several years.

Governments, universities and businesses need to share critical information during emergency events, yet many do not have the tools they need to seamlessly push potentially life-saving instructions across multiple channels to the people who need it most. In this era of constantly-connected, digitally-savvy citizens—sirens, long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), SMS, text messages, or social media may each be the channel that reaches people in peril who otherwise wouldn’t. It is imperative that critical information is sent across all these outlets—quickly, accurately and reliably.

The question is: How will your municipality, government or organization adapt to this new era? What are the key attributes of a modern Public Warning System? How can you effectively and efficiently implement a truly cross-channel critical communications solution? These are the questions this eBook addresses.



Did you know…Presidential alerts don’t require an opt-in and, supposedly, mobile device users can’t opt out.

FEMA’s IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert Warning System), Amber Alerts and WEA (Wireless Emergency Alerts) don’t require users to opt-in, but they can opt out by adjusting their cell phone settings.

There is currently no automatic opt-in/stay-in system in the U.S. like there is in Australia and will be in Europe.

Trend One Sirens are Being Replaced by Smart Acoustic Devices

The most popular Public Warning System in the world remains the old-fashioned siren. Whether they warn people of an approaching tornado, tsunami or military attack, sirens were designed to be loud and warn a lot of people over a large area.

However, sirens are incapable of delivering useful information—such as the nature of the emergency, its location or path, or the actions necessary to protect and save lives. Unfortunately, in areas where sirens are frequently tested, the public may either ignore them or follow a pre-set

emergency plan that could place them in danger due to the unique circumstances of a rapidly changing crisis situation.

Municipalities are moving quickly to replace old-fashioned sirens with high-quality, long-range voice/siren speakers that are reliable, redundant and intelligent. Long-range acoustic devices (LRADs) were developed for applications where specific, detailed information can diffuse critical situations and save lives. Deployed as part of a Public Warning System, LRADs broadcast siren tones to alert the public to voice broadcasts that contain actionable information for people in crisis-affected geographic areas. LRADs feature solar power, battery backup and satellite connectivity, and reach residents, visitors and tourists whose cell phones or land lines might not be operational or integrated with local communications infrastructure.



Did you know…While one person could operate a municipality’s modern Public Warning System, it’s recommended that more than one person is trained on the system for redundancy and reliability.

What if your emergency communications technician is on vacation when a fire breaks out or an active shooter emerges? It’s important to train multiple people.

Trend Two One System to Rule them All

The need to deliver critical communications across multiple channels simultaneously is the key to saving lives. When seconds can mean the difference between people getting trapped or making it to safety, emergency personnel do not have time to draft, customize, format and send various versions of the same message on different systems.

In order to save time and lives, municipalities are deploying modern integrated solutions that work together seamlessly to deliver

critical communications across multiple channels all at once from a single dashboard. This includes outdoor warning systems such as sirens, speakers and LRADs as well as mobile notification systems such as IPAWS, EAS, WEA, reverse 911 and SMS.

With the push of a button, a single user can send messages across all these channels at the same time, increasing the probability that everyone who needs critical information receives it.



Did you know…Insured losses from natural disasters in the U.S. exceeded $78 billion in 2017, according to the Insurance Information Institute, while FEMA noted that there were 59 major federal disaster declarations that year.

Trend Three Digital Isn’t the Total Solution

Rising expectations from an increasingly digitally-savvy population require a seamless mobile application experience to deal with today’s disasters. While most everyone carries a mobile device with them at all times, there are some segments of the population that are not as tethered to their device or may not even own a phone—including the elderly, overseas tourists and people with disabilities. There’s also the possibility that cellular towers are damaged and phone service fails. Also, what about disasters that occur in the middle of the night when most people are sleeping?

Municipalities have a responsibility to ensure that everyone who needs information before, during and after a critical event is able to receive communications from at least one channel.

Mobile notification doesn’t cover everyone in every situation. Analog channels such as LRADs, sirens and speakers need to be a part of your critical communications plan. That’s not to say they need to be separate systems or remain dumb instruments. A truly integrated solution empowers a municipality to orchestrate critical communications across digital and analog channels simultaneously—likely through a redundant cloud platform.



Did you know…The reliance on digital technology by response agencies also presents a potential vulnerability given the proliferation of cyberattacks in recent years.

Cloud-based Critical Communications as a Service (CCaaS) platforms can mitigate the risk by managing, updating and securing your solution while providing cloud-scale redundancy and reliability.

Trend Four Communicating Critical Information Over Social Media is the New Normal

Government agencies, as well as the general public, are now using social media as a go-to tool for rescue and response.

Incidents such as Hurricane Harvey and the California wildfires of 2017 and 2018 have demonstrated the positive and widespread use of social media as a communication tool by agencies, communities and businesses and the positive effects it can have. Further, the public now relies on social media to connect with loved ones, obtain information during times of crisis

and contact responders and community governments throughout disasters and the subsequent recovery process.

The growing influence of technology and social media in emergency management is driving community leaders to develop strategies to effectively communicate with the public and managing expectations during times of crisis using available tools. This is further complicated by the need to plan for potential catastrophic outages of essential technologies and utilities such as the failed 911 system in Houston during Hurricane Harvey or the loss of power in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria.



Did you know…Geography plays a major role in how quickly critical communications are delivered to mobile devices.

Mountains, tall buildings, and cell tower location and density all have an effect on how quickly data is received.

Trend Five Speed Saves Lives

There’s no doubt that quick, actionable information keeps people safe and saves lives, but given limitations in communications infrastructure and the destructive nature of critical events, how do you ensure people get the critical information they need quickly?

Sending critical communications over multiple channels can mitigate the speed challenges inherent in a single channel strategy. Sending communications to mobile phones through SMS, email, social media and in-app messaging will increase the chances that emergency messages get through quickly as one channel may be up and running while another is not. Acoustic communications through LRADs also increase the likelihood that alerts and notifications are heard and acted upon.

Swiftly delivering a warning or directive through any one channel during emergencies is highly variable on power and communications infrastructure, including carriers and cell

towers. Other variables affecting the timely delivery of digital alerts include topography, cell tower coverage and wireless connection speeds. Speed to alerting and disseminating information during emergencies is of the highest importance and highlights the necessity of utilizing multiple channels of communication simultaneously.

In Australia, no opt-in is required for mobile device users to receive local, regional or national emergency alerts from their wireless carriers. This allows emergency managers to deliver critical and potentially life-saving information to all mobile devices in crisis-affected areas, and provide specific directions on what to do and where to go, when evacuations are ordered. This direct government to wireless carrier relationship and capability does not yet exist in the U.S. Genasys is working with carriers, government agencies and legislators to build them.



Did you know…More than 80 percent of all fire departments in the U.S. are either all or mostly volunteer—most of which are in rural areas that protect fewer than 25,000 people.

Trend Six Public-Private Partnerships Strengthen Community Capabilities

Tomorrow’s incident management workforce must focus on building collaborative partnerships with private agencies, businesses, public entities and volunteer organizations. Training emergency management professionals and building and sustaining community organizations requires ongoing education of the public as well as the private partners that are so essential to your community’s disaster resiliency and response.

These partnerships will work to protect critical infrastructure, strengthen community capabilities, and engage with essential businesses partners to build community resilience. Combined with intergovernmental cooperation at all levels, the strategic planning and resource identification required

for a robust response to catastrophic disasters will reduce the impact of crisis situations on our communities.

These partnerships further ensure that the needs of under-represented or vulnerable members of the community are addressed and that emergency management departments are effectively serving all parts of our communities.



https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/US-fire-department-profile

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/US-fire-department-profile

Remote ActivationActivate notifications from a desktop or our mobile app anywhere, anytime.

Designed for ease of use and reliability, our interface gives Emergency Professionals control, speed, and reliability in alerting and messaging at the push of a button.

Case Study: Mill Valley, CA Mill Valley’s New Public Warning and Emergency Response System

This year, officials in Mill Valley, CA replaced all five of the city’s decades-old, siren-only installations with advanced Genasys voice /siren systems that are satellite-connected and have battery backup for hours of continuous operation.

Recognizing that specific, actionable information sent over more channels has the potential to save lives, Mill Valley Mayor James Wickham pushed for new systems that were more powerful and project both siren tones and voice messages to alert and inform the community.

Mill Valley Fire Battalion Chief Scott Barnes pointed out further benefits of the systems. “We’re concerned about natural disasters, and we’re trying to use every tool in our toolbox to get the community prepared. The great thing about this system is it’s not run off communication lines. As we’ve seen in past fires in other communities, the infrastructure burns down, so the warning systems don’t work. This is all satellite-based, so we don’t have that problem.”



Conclusion



Genasys Inc.16262 West Bernardo Dr.San Diego, CA 92127

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Effective communications save time and save lives. Sirens are being replaced by smart acoustic devices that relay essential information as well as warnings. We now have the tools to send life-saving information to people over multiple channels with the push of a single button. Emergency personnel are using social media networks to disseminate critical communications to people in danger. As digital channels sometimes fail, a dual digital and acoustic strategy is needed to reach everyone. The faster you can deliver critical information, the more likely people will take action to stay safe. Public-private partnerships enhance a community’s resiliency when facing a critical situation.

Contact Genasys today to learn how you can take advantage of these trends and arm your emergency personnel with the tools they need to protect the public before, during and after disasters and other crisis events. When lives are at stake, people will be looking to you for answers.

Genasys™

top trends in critical communications · warning system, lrads broadcast siren tones to alert the...

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