DMIS Tools Course Lesson 4 NonWeather Emergency Messages

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DMIS Tools CourseLesson 4 - Non-Weather
Emergency Messages

• For local authorities approved to use the NOAA
  HAZCollect System

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Topic Outline

• What are NWEMs?
• Whats the Operational Flow?
• HAZCollect COGS
• Alerts List
• Viewing an NWEM
• Creating a New NWEM
• Saving a New NWEM
• Saving a Copy of an NWEM
• Editing an NWEM
• Posting an NWEM
• Creating an Update Message
• Creating a Correction Message

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What are NWEMs?

• Non-Weather Emergency Messages (NWEMs) are
• Warnings used to inform the general public of
  various types of emergencies
• CAP-standard compliant
• Applicable for the full spectrum of alerts (other
  than weather)
• Distributable to local, state, regional, or
  national levels
• Distributed via the NOAA Weather Wire and the
  Weather Radio

DMIS
The Public
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Whats the Operational Flow?
Message Posted via DMIS
Incident occurs
Message Prepared
Reformatting to include Text-to-Speech Technology
Message in HAZCollect
Broadcast over ALL NWS communication modes
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HAZCollect COGS
NOT ALL DMIS COGS ARE AUTHORIZED TO USE HAZCOLLECT

• HAZCollect COGS are COGS that exist in DMIS and
  are authorized to create NWEMS that may be
  disseminated to the general public using the NWS
  Weather Radio.
• For a COG to be able to broadcast NWEMs the
  following must be completed
• COG created in DMIS
• COG has requested broadcast rights through NOAA
• NOAA has approved the COG
• Geographic dissemination area has been defined in
  the system by the NOAA HAZCollect Administrator

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Alerts List
Viewing and creating NWEMs begins at the DMIS
Alerts List
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Alerts List (cont.)
Like the Incident List, the Alerts List displays
so you can quickly check if someone else in your
COG has already posted an alert on the current
incident.
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Alerts List Icons
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Finding An Alert

• To help find alerts
• Combinations of criteria may be used to filter
  the list
• Tabs may be used to sort the alerts list by
  group
• Clicking on a column header sorts the list by
  order for that data element

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Viewing an NWEM
To view an NWEM, you need to first access the
Alerts List

• NOTE There is no indicator in the Alerts List
  that differentiates a NWEM from a DMIS CAP Alert.

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Creating A New NWEM

• To create a new NWEM
• Select File ? New NWEM, or
• Click the New NWEM button.

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Creating a New NWEMAlert Tab/Screen
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Creating a New NWEMAlert Detail/Additional NWEM
Information

• Alert Details are required for NWEMs and deliver
  the essential information about the emergency.
  The Headline and the Description fields comprise
  the actual message that will be broadcast through
  HAZCollect.

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Creating a New NWEMAlert Detail/Additional NWEM
Information (cont.)

• 1. Click on Event (required) to select the type
  of NWEM that will be generated.

After selecting the Event Type, you may choose to
click on the Information button to see a detailed
description of the Event Type
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Creating a New NWEMAlert Detail/Additional NWEM
Information (cont.)

• Enter text in the Headline field
• Enter text in the Description field

• Remember
• This is going to be broadcast to the public be
  absolutely, positively certain this is what you
  want to say, and
• The Description field may only contain letters,
  numbers, (plus sign), - (minus sign), period,
  or . . . (ellipsis). No commas, colons, or
  semi-colons!
• Copy / paste may only be done from Notepad

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Creating a New NWEMAdd Call To Action to
Description

• 4. Click on the ellipsis button to view
  the Call To Action List.
• 5. The Call To Action List screen will be opened.
  Call To Action statements may be created and
  saved in the Call To Action List.
• 6. The Call To Action List displays all
  previously defined Call to Action statements. If
  you see a statement that suits your current
  needs, select it, then select the OK button to
  add the statement to the Description field.

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Creating a New NWEM Defining a New Call To Action

• If you do not see an appropriate Call to Action
  statement in the Call to Action List, click the
  Add button.
• The New Call To Action form will present. Type
  in the desired Call To Action statement and click
  OK to save it in the Call to Action List.
• When the box confirming the save of the new Call
  To Action statement presents, select OK. The Call
  To Action statement will be added to the Call to
  Action List.
• Select the new statement from the Call To Action
  List and click the OK button. The new statement
  is added to the Description field on the
  Additional NWEM Information screen.

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Creating a New NWEM Checking Spelling
To use the Spell Check feature, select this
button.
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Creating a New NWEMAdditional Fields
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Creating a New NWEMOther Tab
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Creating a New NWEM Areas Tab

• 11. To populate the required Areas information,
  select the Areas tab on the Additional NWEM
  Information screen.
• 12. Select the ellipsis to define the desired
  distribution areas

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Creating a New NWEM Selecting Broadcast Areas

• 13. Click on the lollypop to open the tree to
  geographic areas that will potentially receive
  the message.
• Click on the checkbox by the locations to select
  areas to receive the NWEM.
• Click OK to close the window and return to the
  Additional NWEM Information window and retain the
  desired areas. (Click Cancel to close the window
  without retaining the areas.)
• The table in the Areas tab will be updated with a
  list of the selected area(s) including the county
  and unique numeric geographic identifier of the
  county.

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Creating a New NWEM Resources Tab

• If you select the optional Resources tab . . .

. . . the Resources screen is shown.
Select the Add Row button to receive the NWEM
Resource data entry screen.
There are two required fields in the NWEM
Resources data entry form.
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Saving a New NWEM

• To save the NWEM, click the Save button or select
  File ?Save.

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Saving a Copy of an NWEM

• Once the NWEM has been saved it can be saved as
  another NWEM.
• From an open NWEM select File ? Save Copy from
  the main menu or select the Save Copy icon below
  the main menu.
• The Enter Name form appears.
• Enter the new name of the new NWEM and click OK.
• The new NWEM is created and a new NWEM Alert
  window is opened. Note the new Name and
  Identifier number.
• Select Save to save the new NWEM.

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Editing an NWEM

• To edit information in an existing NWEM, navigate
  to the Alerts List and select the desired NWEM.
• Select File ? Open, click the Open button, or
  click on the ellipsis at the right side of the
  list screen.

• If you are in View rather than Edit mode, select
  Actions ? Edit or click the Edit Data button and
  update fields as necessary.

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Posting an NWEM

• From the Alerts List or an Open NWEM click File ?
  Post or click the Post button.
• The NWEM Public Broadcast Confirmation screen
  opens so the actual message to be distributed may
  be reviewed.

The content of the message to be broadcast is
shown here.
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Posting an NWEM (cont.)

• To continue posting the NWEM click on the
  check-box next to 'I confirm I have reviewed
  this message and it is ready for PUBLIC
  broadcast.' To modify the message click Cancel
  to return to the NWEM for modification.
• Placing a check in the confirmation check-box
  enables the Broadcast button. Click the
  Broadcast button to send the message to
  HAZCollect
• Click the OK in the Message screen to confirm
  your understanding that the NWEM has been posted
  for broadcast to the public and other COGs if
  they were selected.

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Posting an NWEM (cont.)

• After the NWEM is sent to HAZCollect, the Post
  Alert screen is automatically displayed.
• To Identify the COGs that will receive the NWEM
  click the COG Name. To post the NWEM to multiple
  COGs, hold down the CTRL key then select more
  than one COG.
• Click the OK button to post the NWEM.
• The Posting screen opens.

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Posting an NWEM (cont.)

• Click the OK button to post the item.  If the
  Cancel button is selected, the post will be
  cancelled.
• The DMI-Services system will show a message
  stating that the NWEM has been Posted.

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Creating an Update NWEM
Updated Apr 17 Avalanche Warning

• Within the Alerts List, double click on the
  POSTED VERSION of the unexpired message to be
  updated. The message opens.
• Select File ? Update. An Enter Name screen is
  displayed.
• Enter the name of the updated NWEM and click OK.
• A new message identifier will be automatically
  added and the old message identifier will be
  moved to Reference ID(s).
• The NWEM Update screen will open edit the
  editable fields as necessary.
• The Additional NWEM Information Update screen
  opens with the ellipsis button. Update the
  editable fields as necessary.

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Creating a Correction NWEM

• A Correction message is submitted when a previous
  NWEM had the incorrect information in the
  Headline or the Description field. All other
  data fields are un-editable. To send a
  Correction NWEM
• Navigate to the Alerts List and double click on
  the POSTED, UNEXPIRED VERSION of the message to
  be corrected.
• When the message displays select File
  ?Correction.
• When the Enter Name screen appears, enter the
  name of the Correction message and click OK.
• The NWEM Correction screen will display but
  none of the fields are editable. Double- click on
  the event listed in the Alert Detail field. The
  Additional NWEM Information CORRECTION screen
  is opened.
• Modify the Headline and Description field as
  necessary, click OK, then Save, then Post to
  disseminate the Correction NWEM.

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End of DMIS Operators Course - Lesson 4
Non-Weather Emergency Messages