The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), has agreed to allow Paulding County Emergency Management Agency to become the fourteenth agency in the State of Ohio and the eighth county EMA to become an authorized (IPAWS) agency to provide, Emergency Alerting capabilities at a moment’s notice. Edward Bohn, Paulding County EMA Director filed the necessary application and met the needed requirements for FEMA to approve the request.
This is a part of the new enhanced notification system that was first brought up by township trustee Joe Barker of Carryall Township back in April. The Nixle 360 system and IPAWS, during an emergency, alerts and warns the public of the life-saving information needed, quickly. IPAWS is a modernization and integration of the nation’s alert and warning infrastructure, and will save time when time matters most, protecting life and property. Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial alerting authorities can use IPAWS and integrate local systems that use Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standards with the IPAWS infrastructure. IPAWS provides public safety officials with an effective way to alert and warn the public about serious emergencies using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio, and other public alerting systems from a single interface.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) has been in existence since the 60’s when it was known as the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS). This system would break into your local TV or Radio Station and had the capability to alert citizens to any emergency that threated the immediate area or the nation. With the technological advances in electronic devices, such as Computers, Cellphones and Tablets, (IPAWS) has been created to allow access to these devices in a much more efficient way.
• What are WEA messages?
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) is emergency messages sent by authorized government alerting authorities through your mobile carrier.
• Why is Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) important to me?
Alerts received at the right time can help keep you safe during an emergency. With WEA, warnings can be sent to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without the need to download an app or subscribe to a service.
• What types of alerts will I receive?
– Extreme weather, and other threating emergencies in your area
– AMBER Alerts
– Presidential Alerts during a national emergency
• Is this the same as Nixle the local EMA has asked the public to register for?
No, but they are complementary. Local agencies may have asked you to sign up to receive telephone calls, text messages, or emails. Those messages often include specific details about a critical event. WEAs are very short messages designed to get your attention in a critical situation. They may not give all the details you receive from other notification services.
• If, during an emergency, I can’t make or receive calls or text messages due to network congestion, will I still be able to receive a WEA message?
Yes, WEA messages are not affected by network congestion.
• What types of WEA messages will the National Weather Service (NWS) send?
– Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
– Tornadoes
– Flash Flooding Warnings
– Winter Storm Warnings
• What are AMBER Alerts and Who will issue AMBER Alerts?
AMBER Alerts are urgent bulletins issued in the most serious child-abduction cases. The America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in coordination with State and local public safety officials, sends out AMBER Wireless Emergency Alerts through IPAWS.
The Paulding County Emergency Management Agency encourages the citizens in Paulding County to go online to YouTube and watch the video: FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and learn more about it. The need to inform the public in a quick and much more efficient way is what makes IPAWS so beneficial. If you have questions or concerns, contact the Paulding County EMA at 419-399-3500 Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
