An indication of the location of multimedia information for an emergency alert is distributed via text based protocols such as a Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) and/or a Short Message Service (SMS). Multimedia information can include maps, graphics, video clips, audio clips, still pictures, and the like. A text based alert message along with an indication of the location of the associated multimedia is distributed to users. The indication can comprise a link to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), or the like, from which the multimedia can be retrieved. The indication can comprise a pointer to a link. For example, the alert message can comprise an address in storage of a user device, and the address can contain the link to the URL. Further, the multimedia can be retrieved automatically or manually.