Diffusion of emergency warnings via multi-channel communication systems

This paper analyzes the propagation of emergency alerts and emergency-related information via multi-channel communication systems. Results of two empirical studies are presented. The first study was conducted with 362 test users in a rural area in Germany and analyzes how quickly recipients actually notice a warning after it has been issued via multiple channels (SMS, E-Mail, pagers). The second study involving 13,950 participants from Hamburg, Germany, focuses on information search behaviour and analyzes access patterns to a disaster-related website after distribution of an official (test) warning message.