Access to Emergency Alerts for People with Disabilities
Information Requirements for Access to Emergency Alerts

The information model for a warning message should:

1. Be compatible with various transmissions systems (TC, W3C)
2. Provide warning message details in text form (RB, TC)
3. Provide warning message details in audio form (RB, TC)
4. Provide warning message details in image or other visual form (RB, TC, W3C)
5. Provide warning message details in multiple languages (RB, TC)
6. Make multiple forms of presentation appropriate to the needs of individual recipients (W3C)
7. Make appropriate use of font size, forground/background color and other visual attributes in image and text presentations (W3C)
8. Use appropriate language for comprehension by the at-risk audience (W3C)
9. Allow extension of the information format to meet future needs (TC)
10. Facilitate delivery of the message to all recipients through multiple channels (WG)

Sources of Requirements

RB - Chapter Six of the NSTC "Red Book" report ("Effective Disaster Warnings", National Science and Technology Council, November, 2000)

TC - OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee warning format requirements, 2003

W3C - World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

WG - WGBH/NCAM Access Alerts Working Group