Beach goers along Alabama’s Gulf coast will get more than amber alerts and weather warnings on their cell phones. The shark attack messaging system associated with the passage of “Lulu’s law” in the state legislature quietly went into effect today. The first-of-its-kind public warning alerts for confirmed shark incidents for cellphone users following a string of widely publicized shark attacks along the Gulf coast. Published reports on today's start-up say the system is modeled after AMBER alerts that warn cellphone users of missing children. The shark warnings are for confirmed attacks in Alabama waters, not for unverified reports of shark sightings.
The system operates in Mobile and Baldwin counties. It's based on FEMA's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, or IPAWS program, which is a national, internet-based gateway that allows authorized federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials to send authenticated, geo-targeted emergency alerts to the public. IPAWS simultaneously broadcasts messages through mobile phones, radio/TV , and NOAA weather radios.
It’s been a year since the Alabama legislature passed the first ever shark alert program called “Lulu’s Law.” The state House, Senate, and the Governor took action at the urging of Lulu Gibbon of Mountain Brook. She lost a hand, a leg, and suffered massive blood loss from a shark attack, during a series of incidents in 2025. Gribben’s attack took place in the waters off of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The Florida Museum of Natural History says there were twenty eight unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S. in 2024. The website trackingsharks says sightings off of Alabama beaches are common, but attacks are rare.
