Emergency Communications: The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and All- Hazard Warnings

摘要

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is one of several federally managed warning systems. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly administers EAS with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in cooperation with the National Weather Service (NWS), an organization within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA/NWS weather radio system has been upgraded to an all-hazard warning capability. Ways to improve the NOAA network and the broader-based EAS are underway or are being tested. Much has been accomplished in recent years but the current hodgepodge of warning and alert systems is inadequate for fully alerting the public about terrorist attacks or natural disasters, or for providing information on how to respond. As was demonstrated on September 11, 2001, after the southeast Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004, and again when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the ability to communicate after a disaster also has a critical role in saving lives.