COMMUNITY  WARNING  SYSTEMS

 

A civil defense siren, air raid siren, tornado siren, or other kind of outdoor warning siren, is usually considered to be an electrically-powered mechanical device for generating sound to provide warning of approaching danger and to indicate when the danger has passed. Initially designed to warn of air raids, they were adapted to warn of nuclear attack and of natural phenomena such as tornadoes. The generalized nature and limited effectiveness of the siren led to them being largely replaced with more modern warning systems, such as the Emergency Alert System.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is used to alert the local community about emergency information and warnings through local broadcast and cable media. Certain messages can be generated by local, state and federal offices and transmitted on radio, television and cable networks to alert the community about such hazards as power outages, tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, blizzards, dam failures, nuclear accidents, toxic leaks or any occurrence which poses a danger to life or property.

The EAS system can be activated by several methods. The National Weather Service can activate the system via our NOAA Weather Radio. Usually we activate the system when life threatening weather or potential damage to property may occur. The main weather elements we activate the system for are tornadoes, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and rapidly developing blizzards. We can, at the request of specified officials activate the system for items like dam failures or messages from county emergency management directors who need to alert their community to hazards like toxic leaks.

When the system is activated, tones are heard on radio and television stations which interrupt the audio portion of the programming. Each television station may choose whether to use a crawler or have an audio portion discuss what the alert is for. Radio stations use only audio messages. Once the message is relayed, the television and radio stations return to normal programming.

All television stations have upgraded to the Emergency Alert System. Nearly every radio station has also upgraded. Certain stations across Idaho have been selected as primary input points for emergency messages. These stations are listed on the next page. If you can not use NOAA Weather Radio to receive emergency information, it is suggested you monitor one of the primary stations or contact radio or television stations in your community to ensure they have the Emergency Alert System for monitoring.

 

The NOAA Alert Radio System is an all-hazards public warning system broadcasting warnings and emergency information directly to your home, school or business.

 

“All Hazards” messages include:

     < natural (e.g., tornado watches & warnings, hurricane, floods, earthquakes)

     < technological accidents (e.g., chemical release, oil spill, nuclear power plant emergencies,       

         maritime accidents, train derailments)

     < AMBER alerts

     < terrorist attacks

Non-weather emergency messages will be broadcast over NOAA Alert Radio when:

     (1) public safety is involved

     (2) the message comes from an official government source

     (3) time is critical.

The National, State and County Response Plans assign responsibility to the National Weather Service  to broadcast non-weather emergency messages.

 

Non-weather emergency messages will be broadcast over the NOAA Alert Radio System at the request of local and/or state officials. The NOAA Alert Radio System does not initiate the contact nor the message. When local or state officials wish to broadcast an emergency message on NOAA Alert Radio System , the officials provide text information about the hazard and the appropriate response directly to the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield (SEOC).

 

EARS

 The Emergency Alert Radio System is a tone/voice radio system designed to provide early warning information to schools, hospitals, government offices, business, and the general public. EARS operates on the KLEARN channel and can be activated by either the County 911 Center or the EOC. Severe weather watch and warning information is disseminated over the EARS system along with other all-hazards information.