{"id":18850,"date":"2012-05-23T16:55:02","date_gmt":"2012-05-23T21:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=18850"},"modified":"2012-05-24T11:25:29","modified_gmt":"2012-05-24T16:25:29","slug":"extreme-weather-text-alerts-set-to-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/23\/extreme-weather-text-alerts-set-to-begin\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme-weather text alerts set to begin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extreme-weather text alerts set to begin<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Doyle Rice<\/p>\n

May 14, 2012<\/p>\n

Wireless carriers and the federal government are launching a system to
\nautomatically warn people of dangerous weather and other emergencies
\nvia a special type of text messaging to cellphones.<\/p>\n

The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service, which begins this month, is
\nfree, and consumers won’t have to sign up. Warnings will be
\nlocation-based: If you’re traveling, you’ll get an alert for whatever
\nemergency is happening where you are.<\/p>\n

“Wireless carriers representing more than 97% of subscribers
\nvoluntarily agreed to develop and offer free, geographically targeted
\nwireless emergency alerts,” said Amy Storey, spokeswoman for the CTIA\u2014
\nThe Wireless Association. AT&T, Cellcom, Cricket,
\nSprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless are
\nparticipating.<\/p>\n

Alerts will be issued for such life-threatening events as tornadoes,
\nflash floods, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, dust storms, extreme
\nwinds, blizzards and ice storms.<\/p>\n

“These text alerts will be very brief, under 90 characters,” said
\nNational Weather Service spokeswoman Susan Buchanan, “and are intended
\nto prompt people to immediately seek additional information through the
\nwide range of weather alert communications available to them, such as
\nthe Internet, television, radio or NOAA Weather Radio.”<\/p>\n

Private forecasting companies have offered warnings to subscribers
\nbefore, but this is the first national service by the federal
\ngovernment and the wireless industry.<\/p>\n

Buchanan said alerts about very dangerous situations such as tornadoes
\nwill give advice such as “seek shelter immediately.”<\/p>\n

The weather alerts will be used specifically for weather “warnings,”
\nnot the less-severe weather “watches.”<\/p>\n

According to the weather service, a watch means a specific type of bad
\nweather is possible during the next few hours, while a warning means
\nthat type of weather has been observed, or is expected soon.<\/p>\n

In addition to “imminent threat” warnings for severe weather and
\nearthquakes, WEA can also issue AMBER Alerts for missing children and
\nPresidential Alerts for national emergencies. People can opt out of
\nAMBER and Weather Alerts but not Presidential Alerts.<\/p>\n

An alert will look like a text, but the system uses a different
\ntechnology that isn’t subject to congestion or wireless network delays,
\nthe CTIA said.<\/p>\n

WEAs are a point-to-multipoint system, Storey says, which means alert
\nmessages will be sent to those within a targeted area, unlike text
\nmessages, which are not location aware.<\/p>\n

The alerts don’t have anything to do with where the phone was
\nregistered or what area code the phone has; the closest cell phone
\ntower will broadcast the warnings to all cell phones in that area.<\/p>\n

For example, if a person with a WEA-capable device from Washington,
\nD.C., happened to be in Oklahoma City when a tornado warning was issued
\nfor Oklahoma City, they would receive an alert on their device.<\/p>\n

The bulk of the warnings, Storey predicts, will be weather related.<\/p>\n

“Given that there are more mobile devices than Americans in the U.S.,
\nit makes sense to warn wireless consumers about threats on their mobile
\ndevices, since they can receive them anytime and anywhere,” Storey
\nsays.<\/p>\n

“This is another great way of receiving warnings immediately, just like
\nweather radio and other sources,” weather service spokesman Chris
\nVaccaro said.<\/p>\n

Vaccaro says people should not rely only on mobile devices for weather
\nwarnings since they can lose power. He urges using a National Oceanic
\nand Atmospheric Administration weather radio, which has longer-lasting
\nbattery backup.<\/p>\n

The WEA system is a collaboration by the wireless industry, the Federal
\nCommunications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
\nDepartment of Homeland Security, the National Weather Service and other
\nagencies.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/weather\/news\/story\/2012-05-13\/extreme-weather-alerts-texts-cellphones\/54943804\/1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Extreme-weather text alerts set to begin By Doyle Rice May 14, 2012 Wireless carriers and the federal government are launching a system to automatically warn people of dangerous weather and other emergencies via a special type of text messaging to…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[13935,5171,13931,13923,5172,13929,13930,13926,5322,13932,13457,13936,11306,13934,1466,13925,13928,13927,13924,11221,13921,13933,13922],"class_list":["post-18850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-amber-alerts","tag-att","tag-blizzards","tag-cellcom","tag-cricket","tag-dust-storms","tag-extreme-winds","tag-flash-floods","tag-hurricanes","tag-ice-storms","tag-noaa","tag-presidential-alerts","tag-sprint-nextel","tag-susan-buchanan","tag-t-mobile","tag-tornadoes","tag-tsunamis","tag-typhoons","tag-u-s-cellular","tag-verizon-wireless","tag-wea","tag-weather-radio","tag-wireless-emergency-alerts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4U2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18904,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/30\/fema-urges-preparedness-for-hurricanes-and-severe-weather\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":0},"title":"FEMA Urges Preparedness for Hurricanes and Severe Weather","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"FEMA Urges Preparedness for Hurricanes and Severe Weather Mobile wireless emergency alerting capabilities will be available nationwide through participating carriers Release Date: May 24, 2012 Release Number: HQ-12-038 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hurricane Season begins June 1, 2012, FEMA is providing additional tools for federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officials\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23281,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/06\/02\/fema-and-ad-council-help-americans-prepare-for-severe-weather-wireless-emergency-alerts\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":1},"title":"FEMA and Ad Council Help Americans Prepare for Severe Weather – Wireless Emergency Alerts","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 FEMA and Ad Council Help Americans Prepare for Severe Weather - Wireless Emergency Alerts New PSAs launch during Hurricane Preparedness Week as part of Ready campaign Recent severe weather and the start of the Atlantic hurricane season reinforce the need for Americans to familiarize themselves with the look,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DN_logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44967,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2024\/03\/28\/fcc-seeks-comment-on-asl-and-multilingual-wireless-emergency-alert-templates\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":2},"title":"FCC Seeks Comment on ASL and Multilingual Wireless Emergency Alert Templates","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC Seeks Comment on ASL and Multilingual Wireless Emergency Alert Templates In October 2023, the FCC adopted rules to require participating wireless providers to make available certain Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) in the thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United States and in American Sign Language (ASL) in addition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/fcc-150x150.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25238,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/11\/06\/fort-worth-offers-weather-alerts-tailored-for-blind-deaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":3},"title":"Fort Worth offers weather alerts tailored for blind, deaf","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"November 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Fort Worth offers weather alerts tailored for blind, deaf by MONIKA DIAZ WFAA October 30, 2013 FORT WORTH \u2014 When severe weather hits, Shelly Ondich turns to her computer for weather alerts being issued by the City of Fort Worth. She\u2019s paying attention to every word. \u201cI like the details,\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12735,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/01\/03\/survey-on-emergency-communications-and-people-with-disabilities\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":4},"title":"Survey on emergency communications and people with disabilities","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey on emergency communications and people with disabilities WEBSITE: http:\/\/www.wirelessrerc.org\/news\/take-the-2010-Emergency-Communications-survey.html Good Afternoon Colleagues: The Director of FEMA\u2019s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, Marcie Roth, would like to the following information with you regarding a research project on the use and usability of wireless technology by people with disabilities currently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21872,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/02\/13\/rerc-survey-on-emergency-communications-people-with-disabilities\/","url_meta":{"origin":18850,"position":5},"title":"RERC Survey on Emergency Communications & People with Disabilities","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wireless Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) Survey on Emergency Communications & People with Disabilities While data collection is underway for the Survey of User Needs, the Wireless RERC's Consumer Research Team has also just launched a new survey on emergency communications. Emergency communications generally include two main components: 1)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18850"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18854,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18850\/revisions\/18854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}