Oct. 3, 2018 EAS Presidential Alert test

Fri Oct 5 23:53:52 UTC 2018

On 10/05/2018 04:47 PM, Sean Donelan wrote:
> On Thu, 4 Oct 2018, bzs at theworld.com wrote:
>> Just to try to squeeze something worthwhile out of these reports...
>>
>> I wonder, if there were a real alert, what the odds are that one
>> wouldn't hear about it in 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc even if they didn't
>> personally get it.
>
> What happens when people don't get warnings?
>
> Gatlinburg, TN - 2016 Wildfires - 14 fatalities
>
> Northern California - 2017 Wildfires - 44 fatalities
>
> Yes, neighbors alerted neighbors, local emergency officials drove 
> through the streets and knocked on doors, radio and television 
> stations broke into programming. It took hours, and eventually about 
> 200,000 people were warned. But the wildfires moved faster than those 
> other alerting methods.
>
> Sometimes people are asleep (disasters don't always happen at 2pm on a 
> work day), live alone, are not constantly watching TV or checking 
> social media.
>
> Its unlikely any system will ever be able to reach everyone. WEA 
> reaches more people (about 70% of the national population), much 
> faster (about 10-15 seconds), day and night (most people keep their 
> mobile phones near them even while sleeping) than the existing warning 
> systems. But they should still be used in combination, not exclusive.
>
> Warning systems depend on communication service providers keeping 
> their systems operating, i.e. cell towers with backup power, ISPs with 
> diversity in their networks, etc.

If we ever get our earthquake early warning system, people definitely 
have incentive to pay attention since a minute before the incoming S 
waves ain't a lot of time, but could be a lifesaver.

Mike