Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)
What is IPAWS?
During an emergency, the President, state, territorial, tribal and local officials and emergency managers need to provide the public with life-saving information quickly.
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is the nation's next-generation infrastructure of alert and warning networks that will expand upon the traditional audio-only radio and television Emergency Alert System (EAS) by providing one message over more media to more people before, during, and after a disaster. In the event of a national emergency, the President will be able to use IPAWS to send a message to the public quickly, easily, and simultaneously through multiple communications paths in order to reduce loss of life and property damage. In addition, IPAWS will provide state, territorial, tribal, and local governments with the capability to integrate their alert and warning systems with the national alert and warning infrastructure. In this way, IPAWS will increase resilience to local systems and provide additional means by which life-saving information can be distributed to residents during a crisis.
IPAWS Background
Since 2004, FEMA has served as the Federal Executive Branch lead agency for developing IPAWS. In June 2006, the President signed the Public Alert and Warning System Executive Order to drive the creation of a more "effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and warn the American people" before, during, and after disasters. In response, FEMA established the IPAWS Program Management Office (PMO) in April 2007.
The current EAS is based on technology that relied on radio and TV to transmit audio-only alerts. Today, TV and radio are but a few of the many communications technologies and networks the public uses to send and receive information. For example, many people receive their news primarily over the Internet, and many have given up their traditional landline to receive all phone calls on their cell phone. In addition, very few people watch TV or listen to the radio during the work day, reducing the effectiveness of traditional broadcast media.
IPAWS is designed to improve public safety through the rapid dissemination of emergency messages to as many people as possible over as many communications devices as possible. To do this, IPAWS is planning to expand the traditional EAS to include more modern technologies. At the same time, FEMA is upgrading the alert and warning infrastructure so that no matter what the crisis is, the public will receive life-saving information.
What IPAWS Will Do
IPAWS will provide flexibility for the President to send emergency alerts in various forms, including text, pre-recorded or live audio/visual (for example, American Sign Language or Teletype) alerts. People will be able to receive alerts via their landline phones, specified websites, personal digital assistants, e-mail accounts, or cell phones.
Last Modified: Thursday, 26-Feb-2009 15:29:34 EST