Civil danger warning

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A civil danger warning (SAME code: CDW) is a warning issued through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in the United States to warn the public of an event that presents danger to a significant civilian population. It is typically issued by a local or state authority and is relayed by the National Weather Service. The warning usually mentions a specific hazard such as contaminated water supply, active shooting, unexpected weather alert such as causing roads to be extremely dangerous, major accident, or an imminent or in-progress military or terrorist attack. It may also provide instructions for protective action such as to evacuate, shelter-in-place, boil water or seek medical treatment. The warning has a higher priority than a local area emergency (LAE), as well as a Civil Emergency Message (CEM).

Contents

Examples

Hawaii false alarm

On 13 January 2018, as part of the false missile alert, a civil danger warning interrupted local television and radio broadcasts throughout Hawaii, in addition to the warning sent to smartphones. [1]

Other examples

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED CIVIL DANGER WARNING WISCONSIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 1233 AM CST WED FEB 2 2011  THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE WISCONSIN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WISCONSIN. DRIVING IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TONIGHT ON ALL ROADS IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN. IF YOU BECOME STRANDED...EMERGENCY VEHICLES MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REACH YOU. IF YOU ARE STRANDED...DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE. RUN YOUR VEHICLE 10 MINUTES PER HOUR...AND CRACK A DOWN WIND WINDOW FOR VENTILATION.  $$

[2]

597  WOUS44 KLZK 272046 CDWLZK ARC083-280000-  URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED CIVIL DANGER WARNING ARKANSAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 346 PM CDT MON MAY 27 2019  THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE LOGAN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND THE LOGAN COUNTY  JUDGE.  MCLEAN BOTTOMS IN LOGAN COUNTY IS CLOSED OFF TO ALL PUBLIC ACCESS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. THIS INCLUDES PORTIONS OF NORTH HIGHWAY 309, COTTONTOWN RD., AND KALAMAZOO ROAD. THIS IS BY  ORDER OF THE LOGAN COUNTY JUDGE, NO PERSONS ARE ALLOWED IN THIS AREA DUE TO FORECAST FLOODING. DRIVING INTO THIS AREA  MAY PUT YOUR LIFE IN DANGER!  $$  CAVANAUGH 

[3]

166  WOUS43 KGID 110452 CDWGID NEC001-110552-  BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED CIVIL DANGER WARNING NE ADAMS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 1152 PM CDT TUE AUG 10 2021  ...ACTIVE SHOOTER IN PROGRESS...  THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF ADAMS COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.  THERE IS AN ACTIVE SHOOTER CURRENTLY IN JUNIATA NE AROUND THE N. BRASS AREA.  SHELTER IN PLACE IMMEDIATELY  SHELTER IN PLACE IMMEDIATELY AND LOCK ALL WINDOWS AND DOORS. THIS IS FOR THE JUNIATA AREA AND 2 MILES EAST OF JUNIATA NEBRASKA  $$  AS-NE-872DB331-ABDF-4F99-84C5-4E69A19C1C46/ALERTSENSE

[4]

Related Research Articles

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A civil emergency message is a warning issued through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in the United States to warn the public of a significant in-progress or imminent threat or danger to public safety. It is typically issued by a local or state authority and is relayed by the National Weather Service. The warning is a higher priority than a local area emergency (LAE), but it's less specific than a civil danger warning (CDW). For example, the warning could be used to describe an alert issued by the National Terrorism Advisory System.

Local area emergency is an advisory issued by local authorities through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in the United States to notify the public of an event that does not pose a significant threat to public safety and/or property by itself, but could escalate, contribute to other more serious events, or disrupt critical public safety services. Instructions, other than public protective actions, may be provided. Examples include: a disruption in water, electric or natural gas service, road closures due to excessive snowfall, or a potential terrorist threat where the public is asked to remain alert.

On February 11, 2013, the Emergency Alert System of five different television stations across the U.S. states of Montana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Mexico were hijacked, interrupting each television broadcast with a Local area emergency message warning viewers of a zombie apocalypse. The message was subsequently declared as a hoax by local authorities and was reported to be a result of hackers gaining access to the Emergency Alert System equipment of various television stations.

References

  1. WTVD (2018-01-13). "See the warning Hawaiians saw on TV during missile scare". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  2. "Civil Danger Warning". YouTube. February 1, 2011.
  3. "Civil Danger Warning on May 27, 2019". Iowa Environmental Mesonet. May 27, 2019.
  4. "Civil Danger Warning on Aug 10, 2021". Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Aug 10, 2021.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from Non-Weather Related Emergency Message Description Guidelines (PDF). United States Government.