Army Emergency Management Program - Federation of American ...

e. Community preparedness. Recognition and proper response to mass warning and notification signals and messages
is a crucial component of the ready Army community preparedness training for all categories of personnel (see
chap 7). This capability shall be routinely exercised on a no less than semi-annual basis as a part of all EM exercises.
See chapter 15 for additional information.
f. Protective action recommendations. An effective warning shall provide specific protective action recommendations.
Protective action recommendations should be based on prior community awareness training or specify appropriate
unique actions for the protected populace (Category 2–4 personnel).
Note. Specific protective action recommendations are available from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding biological,
radiological, and nuclear incidents. See http://www.cdc.gov for additional information. Additional guidance is also available from
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding the emergency planning zones (EPZs) around each nuclear power plant
within the U.S. in coordination with State and local EM agencies. Protective action guides (PAGs), such as guides from the NRC,
are available which describe the necessary actions in detail. See www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation.html for additional information.
g. External warning systems. Multiple government and private systems already provide some coverage for warning
the protected populace. These existing systems include radio and TV stations covered under the EAS, the NOAA all
hazards radio/NOAA Weather Radio System, and localized warning systems coordinated with the USGS and U.S.
Volcanic Observatories (Alaska, Cascades Range, Hawaii, Long Valley, and Yellowstone).
Note. HAZCOLLECT is a comprehensive National solution for the centralized collection and efficient distribution of Non-Weather
Emergency Messages (NWEMs). NWEMs are created by government officials with public warning authority are distributed through
the NWS dissemination infrastructure, NOAA All Hazards Radio Program, other National systems, and to the EAS. NWEM is a
specialized form of a CAP alert that is communicated to the HAZCOLLECT server via FEMA’s Disaster Management Open
Platform for Emergency Networks interoperability infrastructure. FEMA’s Disaster Management Interoperability Service desktop
tools incorporates a Non-Weather Emergency Message authoring tool for the use of warning authorities, although the authoring tool
is not available for use until the HAZCOLLECT registration process is completed. For additional information, see www.nws.noaa.
gov/os/hazcollect.
h. Warning terminology. Effective warnings should use standard terminology that clearly communicates the immediacy,
reliability, severity, and scope of the hazard and of the appropriate basic response. The principal agencies issuing
warnings of natural hazards inside the United States are the NWS and the USGS. The terms “watch” and “warning”
have gained wide acceptance within the Federal, State, and local EM community and the media and may be used to set
specific protection and response actions in motion. Standard terminology also exists for those installations within the
emergency planning zones around a nuclear power plant.
(1) Standard terminology. The NWS has developed the following terminology for specific natural hazards:
Warning: The hazardous event is occurring or is imminent. The public should take immediate protective action.
Advisory: An event, which is occurring or is imminent, is less severe than for a warning. It may cause inconvenience,
but is not expected to be life- or property-threatening, if normal precautions are taken.
Watch: Conditions are favorable for occurrence (development or movement) of the hazard. The public should stay
alert.
Outlook: The potential for a hazard exists, though the exact timing and severity is uncertain.
Statement: Detailed follow-up information to warnings, advisories, watches, and outlooks is provided.
Forecast: This is a prediction of what events are expected to occur. The range of predictability for hydro-meteorological
hazards extends from the short-term forecasts for one to two hours out to climatological forecasts for trends up
to a year in advance.
(2) Standardized public service announcements. All installations shall develop and prescript standard PSAs for preidentified
procedures and warnings to ensure that information, especially urgent warnings passed along during the
initial few moments of an emergency, address all of the information needs of the recipients in a logical format.
(3) Standardized warning signals. Per FM 3–11.34, the following standardized warning signals apply as shown in
table 11–1. It is highly recommended that installations coordinate use of these signals with local civil jurisdictions and,
if incorporated into the installation EM plan and supporting SOPs, these signals must be incorporated into the Ready
Army Community Preparedness materials in order to ensure recognition and appropriate actions by the protected
populace.
DA PAM 525–27 20 September 2012
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