Following the second-costliest hurricane season on record, the Florida Division of Emergency Management is launching a warning system that uses artificial intelligence to deliver detailed information to affected residents at what it says are unprecedented speeds and levels of detail.

The Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network, which news syndicator Futuri Media LLC developed in partnership with FDEM and the University of Florida, uses a combination of legacy and high-tech digital technology to automate the process of creating updates and advisories for broadcast by radio, TV and a free mobile app.

Multilingual

Beacon automatically captures, prioritizes and translates all public safety information from authorized government sources, localizes it, translates it into multiple languages, and optionally reads it on the air using synthesized speech. The current version supports English and Spanish with Haitian Creole to be added next along with other unspecified languages in the future, officials said.

The system integrates into news feeds in media newsrooms through a secure dashboard, allowing broadcasters across the state to access real-time content. That’s critical at a time when newsrooms are stretched as never before, said Futuri Media Chief Executive Daniel Anstandig.

“Newsroom budgets are shrinking. Journalists are being asked to cover more territory with less resources, and some newsrooms in rural areas are shutting down altogether,” he said. “With Beacon, media outlets everywhere have a way to fill that gap.”

One of the system’s advantages is that it can transmit information of any length, such specific steps residents can take to protect themselves before, during, and after an emergency. That’s nearly impossible with the widely used Emergency Broadcast Alerts, which are limited to two minutes of audio and 360 characters of text in state and local jurisdictions

Stress test

Hurricane Milton (pictured) was Beacon’s stress test, said FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. “Over 4,000 messages were successfully input into the system and converted to on-the-air radio broadcast messages,” he said. “When we are not in disaster mode, Beacon will be the platform for residents to hear about relevant recovery resources, preparedness information and much more.”

Beacon rides on top of a century-old broadcast technology, but the decision to use the airwaves was intentional, Guthrie said. “In the state of Florida, we have never lost a radio broadcast tower with all of the storms that have hit here,” he said. “It’s always been on. It’s always been there.”

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said radio is a lifeline for many small stations after storms have wiped out cellular and Internet service. “They need to tell people where the shelters are but they’re not going to get that information out once the internet goes down,” he said. “The labor it takes to get those shelter lists into broadcast format and read it over the air may no longer exist. Beacon converts text into broadcast quality information in minutes.”

The University of Florida Gainesville’s WUFT FM National Public Radio affiliate is the first to test Beacon. Futuri said it plans to make the system available in other states, working with governors’ offices and emergency managers.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons