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Dr. Saurabh Solanki
Aviktechnosoft Private Limited
Govind Nagar Mathura, UP, India, PIn-281001
saurabh@aviktechnosoft.com
Abstract
Floods remain the world’s most frequent and socially regressive natural hazard, disproportionately affecting linguistically diverse and low-literacy communities. This manuscript examines how multilingual disaster-preparedness communication—spanning alerts, education, drills, and last-mile community engagement—improves risk comprehension and protective action in flood-prone states. Anchored in global frameworks (Sendai Framework), technical standards (Common Alerting Protocol; ISO 22324 colour-coded alerts), and impact-based early-warning guidance (WMO), we develop and test a mixed-methods model across five Indian flood-prone states (Assam, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala). We combine household surveys (N=2,500), message A/B tests in local languages (Assamese, Bengali, Odia, Malayalam, Hindi), and a quasi-experimental rollout of cell broadcast, SMS, WhatsApp text/voice, community radio, and ward-level loudspeaker networks. A logistic model estimates the odds of timely protective action (e.g., evacuation, asset elevation) within six hours of an official alert. Results indicate that (i) multilingual, plain-language alerts nearly double the odds of protective action compared to single-language messaging; (ii) voice-based and pictogram-supported messages are especially effective for low-literacy groups; (iii) CAP-profiled, colour-consistent alerts disseminated simultaneously across channels reduce confusion and “milling”; and (iv) trust increases when alerts are co-branded with local institutions and delivered by familiar community voices.
Keywords
Multilingual Alerts, Flood Preparedness, Early Warning, Common Alerting Protocol, ISO 22324, Impact-Based Forecasting, Risk Communication, Last-Mile Delivery
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