During the month of September, AWARE will be hosting a series of posts from guest authors highlighting the five most significant innovations in the field of alerts and warnings in the past decade since 9/11. This post is the final of three on the CMAS Users Trial conducted in San Diego, authored by Stephen Rea, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator of the County of San Diego (California) Office of Emergency Services. 

As part of a coordinated effort with Sprint and the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), The County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services (OES) had a unique opportunity to become the first in the nation to test the Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS, also known as the Personalized Local Alerting Network, or PLAN) on a large scale. During the October 2010 trial, over 50 imminent threat and AMBER alerts were generated. These alerts were received by 120 mobile phones preloaded with CMAS software. Our intent was to put PLAN through its paces by simulating large and small disasters ranging from earthquakes and tsunamis to hazardous materials spills.

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During the month of September, AWARE will be hosting a series of posts from guest authors highlighting the five most significant innovations in the field of alerts and warnings in the past decade since 9/11. This post is the second of three on the CMAS Users Trial conducted in San Diego, authored by Stephen Rea, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator of the County of San Diego (California) Office of Emergency Services. 

As part of a coordinated effort with Sprint and the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), The County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services (OES) had a unique opportunity to become the first in the nation to test the Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS, also known as the Personalized Local Alerting Network, or PLAN) on a large scale. During the October 2010 trial, over 50 imminent threat and AMBER alerts were generated. These alerts were received by 120 mobile phones preloaded with CMAS software. Our intent was to put PLAN through its paces by simulating large and small disasters ranging from earthquakes and tsunamis to hazardous materials spills.

Continue reading »

FEMA Shows Off its Geo-Targeted Alert System Project

On February 12, 2010, in IPAWS, by trdehaven

Yesterday, FEMA illustrated its G eo-Targeted Alerting System (GTAS) project, a prototype application of plume modeling and high resolution weather models that may eventually be used for alerting the public.

The application is essentially a map-based notification interface, however, it is connected to some very useful data. First, it receives high-resolution weather data and modeling feeds from the National Weather Service. These feeds allow emergency managers to visualize areas in the path of dangerous weather (currently or forecasted) and to select these areas for the issuance of highly targeted public emergency notifications. Further, the app provides built-in collaboration tools so emergency managers can can work with outside experts to clarify the information being presented.

More at:  http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/alerts/FEMA-Shows-Off-its.html