Alerts in the Wrong Language

In January 2025, as fires spread across Los Angeles, nearly 50,000 Asian Americans lived within evacuation zones. A UCLA brief estimated that more than 12,000 might need language assistance because of limited English proficiency.^[1] That figure does not prove that every one of them received an alert they could not understand. It does show how many people could be at a disadvantage if urgent information is unavailable in a language they understand.

An alert does not protect people simply because it reaches a phone. It must also explain clearly what is happening, whom it affects, and what each person should do. When that communication fails, the message exists in the system but may not help the people who need it most.

An approved rule, delayed implementation

In October 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules for wireless emergency alerts in English, Spanish, and 12 other languages, as well as American Sign Language.^[2] In January 2025, the FCC published templates for 18 types of urgent alerts in those languages.^[3]

But the existence of templates does not mean every community already receives every alert automatically in the language set on its phone. The FCC set an implementation deadline for participating carriers that extends to June 12, 2028. The agency said alert originators can use the templates and carriers must update their systems to support them.^[4][5]

The difference between an approved rule and a service that is available matters. Until that deadline, local governments still need to prepare understandable messages and share them through channels people actually use.

Connecticut and Ibagué, Colombia: different barriers, the same duty

In Connecticut, 453,397 people age five or older speak Spanish at home. Of those, 192,520 speak English less than “very well,” according to the Migration Policy Institute’s tabulations of 2024 American Community Survey data.^[6] These are not abstract figures: they are neighbors who may need clear instructions during a flood, heat wave, or evacuation.

In a city such as Ibagué, Colombia, the barrier may look different. Sharing the majority language does not guarantee that bureaucratic announcements are understood, that a message reaches exposed neighborhoods, or that residents trust the institution sending it. Language matters; clarity, channel, and trust matter too.

In both places, government has the same task: understand whom it needs to alert and communicate instructions that people can use.

The cost of waiting too long

Translating messages, preparing community messengers, and testing instructions before a crisis takes time and resources. Lack of preparation also carries a cost. If someone does not understand where to shelter, how to request help, or which route to avoid, the response may come too late and require more resources.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has documented staffing, budget, and technical-capacity barriers that make it harder for federal and local agencies to communicate weather alerts in multiple languages.^[7] Those limits call for a concrete response: advance planning, coordination, and evaluation, rather than the assumption that an English message is enough for everyone.

Accessible communication does not remove the danger of a fire or flood. It can help more people understand how to respond to it.

What local governments can do

• Prepare before a crisis. Draft and translate flood, heat, and evacuation alerts in advance; review them with the communities they are meant to reach.
• Write for people. Use short sentences and concrete instructions: what to do, where to go, and whom to call.
• Work with trusted messengers. Neighborhood organizations, community groups, and local leaders can help reach people when an official notification is not enough.
• Check whether the message was understood. After each emergency, ask not only when the message was sent, but who received it, who could understand it, and what barriers they faced.

The next emergency could come to Hartford, Ibagué, Colombia, or Los Angeles. The question is not only whether sirens or phone alerts will sound. It is whether the people who receive them will know what to do.