When disaster strikes, trusted information saves lives. Yet floods, cyclones, wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis often disrupt electricity, mobile networks and internet connectivity at the very moment people need clear, reliable guidance. Radio remains a vital lifeline in these moments, and digital radio can do even more.
On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13th), the DRM Consortium is calling attention to the critical role of Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and its Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF) in building resilient national warning and information systems.
DRM’s Emergency Warning Functionality provides a robust, scalable and inclusive way to deliver emergency information when other networks are congested, damaged or unavailable. Its capabilities include:
- Wide‑area reach: Delivers emergency messages across large regions, including remote and underserved communities, even from outside the affected areas.
- High resilience: Offers an additional communication channel when mobile and internet networks fail.
- Automatic activation: Enables compatible receivers to switch instantly to emergency broadcasts.
- Multilingual, targeted information: Supports audio, text alerts, maps etc. tailored to specific regions and languages.
- Strengthens preparedness: Strengthens existing mobile, satellite and internet‑based systems, while maintaining access to essential public‑interest and educational information during prolonged disruptions.
🔗 Discover DRM Emergency Warning Functionality: https://ewf.drm.org/
Read more
📄 Why Digital Radio remains Essential in the Car
📄 DRM Provides the Complete Solution for Emergency Alerts – RedTech
Watch
DRM video series: episode 3 – Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF)
About DRM
Digital Radio Mondiale™ (DRM) is the universal, openly standardised digital radio system for all broadcasting frequencies and coverage needs.
DRM on short, medium and long wave up to 30 MHz provides for efficient coverage in large areas with at least FM quality, while significantly reducing power consumption. DRM in the FM & VHF bands above 30 MHz enables flexible local and regional broadcaster-controlled services, with up to 3 stereo audio programmes plus multimedia components in half the bandwidth of a single analogue FM signal.
ITU recognised the DRM Consortium for its outstanding contribution to the Telecommunications sector over the past year. The DRM Consortium has signed the EBU Smart Radio Memorandum that promotes access to free to air radio on all devices.
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