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Read. Understand. Apply.
The Warn Room blogs apply 70 years of research to the practice of alerts and warnings. We show how evidence-based changes to message content, style, and structure can create more effective warnings.
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Incomplete messages put lives in danger
This past week, a catastrophic storm ripped through the Southeast US, leaving communities destroyed and more than 230 deaths (so far). ...

Jeannette Sutton
Oct 7, 2024


Why Jargon Is So Bad in a Warning Message
By most assessments, this would be considered a complete message. It includes the source, the hazard, the location, the guidance, and the...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 14, 2024


Special event notifications
There are plenty of special events that occur every day, resulting in the need for specialized notifications for populations engaging in...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 12, 2024


Improving an incomplete wildfire warning message
I write a lot about wildfire warnings; I do so because they honestly stand out as being some of the most frequently incomplete and...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 9, 2024


What about those road closure messages...
Every once and a while, we take a peek at the types of messages that a state or jurisdiction is sending to the public and find something...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 8, 2024


All Clear Messages and Active Shooters
All clear messages are designed to do one thing: let people know that the event has concluded and they are safe to return or resume...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 6, 2024


Improving a message for water restrictions.
I love a simple message that uses plain language and is easy to read. But sometimes, the message is SO simple that it simply leaves out...

Jeannette Sutton
Aug 1, 2024


Warning Location Information and Zones...
If you send or receive wildfire or hurricane alerts and warnings, you know that there has been a shift to the use of zones to highlight...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 30, 2024


A Well-constructed Message for a Missing Endangered Adult
Did you know that there are at least 50 different types of missing persons messages/categories in effect across the United States. FIFTY!...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 15, 2024


Another wildfire message, this time using SET as a signal to prepare
If you read the blog posted on July 8, you know that wildfire messaging is inconsistent and frequently incomplete. You can read research...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 12, 2024


Should we make preparedness messages actionable, too? Yes!
Another excellent post shared by @zachstanford, who helps to highlight how we can use the Message Design Dashboard and effective...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 8, 2024


A complete message for a fast moving wildfire: 5-stars!
The wildfires that erupted in New Mexico this past June were fast moving and extremely dangerous. Having messages prepared ahead of time...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 3, 2024


Is it time to establish a policy for your Wireless Emergency Alerts?
There are a lot of reasons to establish a WEA policy early in your use of IPAWS - in particular, a policy can help to guide when a...

Jeannette Sutton
Jul 1, 2024


"Armed man wanted for homicides" is NOT a help-wanted advertisement
The editor has been away from her desk for a bit, but we've started to notice friends and colleagues who are implementing The Warn Room...

Jeannette Sutton
Jun 27, 2024


An improved Boil Water Notification that is actionable
The editor has been away from her desk for a bit, but we've started to notice friends and colleagues who are implementing The Warn Room...

Jeannette Sutton
Jun 24, 2024


A revised law enforcement message that is complete and consistent
We've written about law enforcement messages in the past, showing how they can be "tricky" to write about because of the uncertainty of...

Jeannette Sutton
Apr 25, 2024


Be On The Lookout... help us search
There are many ways to indicate to a community that there is a need to help find a missing person. Risk communicators can choose to use...

Jeannette Sutton
Apr 22, 2024


A concise law enforcement message
Law enforcement messaging is tricky. Do you include content about the nature of the law enforcement activity? Do you give details about...

Jeannette Sutton
Apr 18, 2024


Actionable, local, missing persons alerts
The focus of alerts and warnings have primarily centered on natural, technological, biological, and human induced hazards that are...

Jeannette Sutton
Apr 15, 2024


The value of a consistent message: a case study
Message consistency is a concept that is frequently discussed when considering multiple parties communicating about a single event. We...

Jeannette Sutton
Mar 20, 2024
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