Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 1 U. Washington Tsunami Certificate Program Course 2: Tsunami Warning Systems Session 11 Tsunami Warning Dissemination July 29, :30-10:15am

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 2 Outline Warning Dissemination Routes Primary Recipients Warning Reception Methods Testing

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 3 Tsunami Warning Dissemination Desired characteristics –Reliable –Fast –Robust – Not many places to break down –Redundant –Easily Understood –Tested Regularly

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 4

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 5

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 6 Tsunami Warning Dissemination National Warning System Phone –Operated by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Audience: –State Emergency Management –Military –US Coast Guard –FEMA –Canada contacts dialed-in Nationwide dedicated voice telephone circuit Initially installed for nuclear attach warning dissemination Mostly used for natural and man-made hazard warnings

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 7 Tsunami Warning Dissemination NOAA Weather Wire System –Operated by the National Weather Service Audience: –State/Province Emergency Management –US Coast Guard –Other subscribers (e.g., media) Satellite-based communication system to transmit hazard information WCATWC and PTWC have direct uplinks Very reliable and fast system

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 8 Tsunami Warning Dissemination NOAA-net –Operated by the NOAA Audience: –NWS Forecast offices »NOAA Weather Radio »Emergency Alert System –NWS Telecommunications Gateway »EMWIN »Family of Services - media »GTS »Etc. Private WAN connecting NWS offices Gateway serves as NWS portal to public dissemination

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 9 Tsunami Warning Dissemination Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN) –Operated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Audience: –FAA Regional Center –Flight Service Stations –Direct International Communications –Some Weather Service Offices Private WAN connecting FAA offices with other agencies Important for connecting directly with international customers

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 10 Tsunami Warning Dissemination VHF Radio –Operated by the Alaska Div. of Homeland Security and Emergency Mgmt. Audience: –State Emergency Management –Local Police Used in case of wide-spread communications outages –Most likely for a local event

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 11 Tsunami Warning Dissemination Quake Data Dissemination System (QDDS) –Operated by the United States Geologic Survey Audience: –State Emergency Management –County Emergency Management –Local Officials –Other with emergency response information needs –Also distributes some information to USGS public web sites Ties tsunami warning information into standard USGS dissemination system Earthquake information from TWCs goes to public sites Full warning messages sent those with CISNDisplay software

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 12 Tsunami Warning Dissemination Internet Methods –Web Site –Public – lists –Public lists (Tsunami Watcher) –Private Lists (Emergency Management only) –Cell Phone Text Messaging –Public lists (Tsunami Watcher) –Private Lists (Emergency Management only) –FAX lists –Emergency Management –RSS Feeds –Public Improved CAP/XML products being developed

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 13 Tsunami Warning Dissemination Phone –Phone lists are maintained –A short call-down list is notified after an event Satellite Phone –Backup in case of communications outage

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 14 Primary Recipients TWCs must define who are their primary recipients WCATWC primary recipients –State/province emergency operations centers –Weather Forecast offices –Coast Guard –Military –Designated National Contacts Primary recipients are responsible for forwarding to other agencies Primary recipient contact information must be actively maintained Communications with primary contacts must be regularly tested

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 15 Primary Recipients Typical forwarding routes –TWC -> State EOC ->County Emergency Mgmt. -> Communities -> Public –TWC ->Weather Forecast Office -> Public (EAS or NOAA Weather Radio) –TWC -> Coast Guard -> Mariners via Radio –TWC -> NWS Gateway -> Media -> Public –TWC -> NWS Gateway -> Military -> Military bases –TWC -> Web Sites/RSS/ -> Public Note that the public are at the end of several comm paths

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 16 Message Reception Previous slides looked at how message is disseminated from the TWC How does the average citizen receive the message? –Local Warning Dissemination techniques Sirens Loudspeakers Police notifications Radio/TV Emergency Alert System Auto dialing –NWS Weather Forecast Offices NOAA Weather Radio Emergency Alert System Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (EMWIN)

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 17 Message Reception How does the average citizen receive the message? –U.S. Coast Guard VHF/HF Radio –Media TV/Radio –Direct from TWC Web Site RSS Cell phone text message Critical Point – Evacuation Decisions are made at the state or local level in the U.S. TWCs issue Guidance

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 18 Testing Communication Tests –Daily TWCs must check comm. Links several times a day to ensure operation Test messages do not reach any customers –Monthly TWCs check message reception by primary recipients Use Warning Product headers Clearly specify that message is test only Request response from primary customers Primary customers do not disseminate test further –Annual Annual end-to-end test in which primary recipients broadcast test to their contacts Tests system from TWC through public reception

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 19

Paul Whitmore, NOAA/NWS West Coast/Alaska TWC, July 29, 2007 UW Educational Outreach – Tsunami Science & Preparedness Program (Su 07) Sponsored by NOAA and USAID under the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program Page 20 Tsunami Warning Dissemination - Summary 1.TWCs must employ multiple message dissemination routes for redundancy. 2.Internet-based message dissemination is becoming one of the primary method by which the public receives messages. 3.TWCs must identify primary recipients and stay current on their contact information. 4.Regular communication testing is necessary as tsunami warnings are infrequent events.