Emergency alert and warning systems: Current knowledge and future research directions

This publication reviews the results of past research and considers new possibilities for realizing more effective alert and warning systems in the U.S. It explores how a more effective national alert and warning system might be created and some of the gaps in present knowledge, and sets forth a research agenda to advance the country's alert and warning capabilities.

More than 60 years of research on the public response to alerts and warnings has yielded many insights about how people respond to information that they are at risk and the circumstances under which they are most likely to take appropriate protective action. Some, but not all, of these results have been used to inform the design and operation of alert and warning systems, and new insights continue to emerge.