FCC Issues Multilingual Templates for Emergency Alerts

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Federal Communications Commission

The FCC has unveiled a significant enhancement to the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system by introducing multilingual templates. These templates aim to facilitate rapid and inclusive communication during emergencies by enabling public safety officials to issue alerts in multiple languages.

As of January 8, these templates will support the 18 most critical and timely alerts in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language (ASL). This initiative addresses a crucial gap in emergency communications, particularly for communities with limited English proficiency.

Historically, WEA alerts were primarily available in English and Spanish, with alert originators responsible for any Spanish translations. In response to feedback from public safety partners regarding the challenges of translating urgent messages quickly, the FCC has now mandated wireless providers participating in WEA to incorporate these multilingual templates directly into mobile devices.

Starting from October 2023, new FCC rules have allowed alert originators to utilize these templates without the need for translators, ensuring that alerts are immediately accessible in a subscriber's default language, or in English if the preferred language is not available.

The multilingual templates cover a range of emergencies, including natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. The languages supported are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

This development has been supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with Associate Administrator Michael S. George highlighting the importance of swift communication during critical situations.