Facebook announced its new Local Alerts feature. Potential uses include
storm warnings and advisories for extreme temperatures, evacuations, road
closures, active shooter situations, bomb threats, missing person reports,
water main breaks and more. The aim is to keep its users “safe and
in-the-know.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/08/27/facebook-launching-local-alerts-keep-you-safe-during-emergencies-including-severe-weather/
The Facebook Local Alerts appears to be a closed, walled-garden system,
requiring local emergency managers to setup and maintain Facebook accounts.
Emergency managers have used multiple social media platforms for several
years, but its always a bit hit&miss reaching the public using different
platforms.
Smart assistants like Alexia, Google Assistant, Apple Siri or streaming
services like Netflix and Hulu don't don't proactively provide local
emergency alerts like Cable, TV and radio broadcasters. If you need to
ask Alexa if there is a tornado warning, you probably already know there
is a tornado.
