An expert-based assessment of early warning systems effectiveness in South Ethiopia Regional State

The effectiveness of early warning systems is vital to apply appropriate proactive measures, and timely alerts, and enhance community resilience to hazard-driven disasters. This study has aimed to assess factors affecting the effectiveness of early warning systems in the South Ethiopia Regional State. The required primary data were gathered through structured questionnaire surveys conducted among 78 experts along with focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. The data were analyzed by employing the mixed methods research analysis. Thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data with an inductive approach starting with the data examination. The effectiveness of early warning systems across the study areas was found in the medium level with significant challenges as revealed by the study findings. In addition to the noticeable coverage and structured management, deficiencies were identified in community education, resource allocation, and stakeholders’ collaboration among others. The factors contributing to the challenges included a shortage of qualified experts, delayed warnings, dissemination of false messages, limited public awareness, and inadequate institutional coordination. Furthermore, insufficient resources and the absence of community channel assessments hindered the early warning effectiveness. The dissemination of early warning messages is carried out through local meetings with differential timeliness and frequencies across the study areas and radio broadcasts as primary channels among others while the situation-indicative recent printed-out newspapers were underutilized. The key stakeholders such as development agents, teachers, and health extension workers play vital roles in disseminating messages. However, ensuring timely and accurate warnings remained to be a persistent challenge necessitating improvements in communication strategies. The study concluded that while most respondents perceived the effectiveness of early warning systems to be moderate, substantial efforts are required for its improvement. Besides, addressing the identified challenges and building on the existing strengths could bolster community resilience against the hazard impacts. Hence, solving the scarcity of qualified experts, enhancing community education, improving institutional coordination, and strategically allocating resources are recommended to improve the existing early warning systems and effectively save lives, livelihoods, and environments.