Communication Challenges AND Fairfax Alerts Hello? Communication Challenges AND Fairfax Alerts

My name is Paul Lupe HELLO! and I am here to discuss Public Alert & Warning challenges and methods we have used in Fairfax County implementing and operating Fairfax Alerts.

1 Fairfax County Let’s start with a little overview of Fairfax and our Public Alert & Warning System – Fairfax Alerts.

Median Household Income $111,079 Poverty Rate: 5.8 percent Fairfax County, VA Land Area: 406 Sq. Miles 260,380 Acres Population: 1,116,246 590,000+ jobs, 142,000 tech jobs Median Household Income $111,079 Poverty Rate: 5.8 percent Budget larger than four states

Emergency Subscriber List (ESL) Alerting Fairfax Alerts Everbridge Platform Text & Voice Alerting Emergency Subscriber List (ESL) Alerting Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Alerting

Registered Users Residents Population registered for Fairfax Alerts 58,468 Registered Users 1,131,000 Residents 5.2% Population registered for Fairfax Alerts

“I’m already signed up, I get those Amber Alerts all the time.” “I signed up and got to many traffic alerts, so I deleted my account.” “What is Fairfax Alerts?” “I’ll just check my twitter account during an emergency.”

What is the Goal? To provide accurate and timely information to all impacted or potentially impacted people.

The Challenge?

Lack of information sharing among partners The Challenge? Public Disinterest Lack of information sharing among partners Many messengers Different consumers Language barrier Access & Functional needs Promotion

Public apathy to emergency messages is not a new phenomenon. Public Disinterest Public apathy to emergency messages is not a new phenomenon. The average individual will seek additional information from other sources to verify a threat. Over alerting can desensitize your population. Preparedness not a priority among residents.

LET’S REVIEW SOME CONCEPTS Multiple Mediums The more mediums an individual recieves an alert, the more apt they are to act. Alert Subscriptions Ensure there is a defined “Emergency Alert” subscription. When to Send? Define what constitutes an emergency and ensure that is shared with your registrants. Geo-Target Alerts Target your alerts geographically, if possible, to cut down on erroneous alerts. Test Alerts Send periodic tests to your recipents to ensure they are familiar with your messages.

Outreach Events Print Ads Radio Website Social Media HOA’s Promotion! Outreach Events Print Ads Radio Website Social Media HOA’s Chamber of Commerce Choose up to 5 locations such as home, work and school Choose up to 10 delivery methods like home phone, cellphone, email, text messaging and more Create “Quiet Times” when you don’t want to receive weather alerts Mobile app available for iPhone and Android

Different Consumers Baby Boomers Millenials Generation X

Generation Differences

Many Messengers Fairfax Alerts has over 400 authorized senders, representing Public Safety, Public Works, Public Information, Transportation and many others.

Communication Is almost always listed as the number one cause of difficulties during an incident.

A Real World Example Fairfax County COVANTA FIRE

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Information Sharing & Many Messengers Solution One Tool Sound Policy Coordination

Further Discussion Policy is often an after thought and without it each alert to the public will be handled inefficiently and differently. Sharing information is one of the BIGGEST challenges I have seen today. Most agencies in public safety miss this during a major no notice event and disjointed alerting occurs. For example, the police department tweets about an escaped prisoner two hours before information emergency management or public affairs of the event. The other county agencies learn of the event on the news and send out delayed messaging over their platforms.

Access & Functional needs community and language barriers. Reaching Everyone Access & Functional needs community and language barriers.

Access & Functional Needs Limited English Proficiency Approximately 25.2 million Americans have LEP. “Older Adults” Approximately 40.5 million Americans are over the age of 65. 25% It is quite possible that nearly ¼ of the U.S. population needs some form of assistance in receiving emergency alerts. Disabilities Approximately 54 million Americans have disabilities.

Language Barriers

182 Number of different languages or dialects spoken in Fairfax County, VA.

Any questions? THANKS! You can find me at: @plupe (twitter) paul.lupe@fairfaxcounty.gov

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