Washington, DC, USA. July 30, 2008.
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) announced today its intention to adopt during the first
quarter of calendar year 2009, an alerting protocol in line with
Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) 1.1 as the standard for the Integrated Public Alert and Warnings System (IPAWS).
IPAWS is a network of alert systems through which FEMA is upgrading
the existing Emergency Alert System (EAS). CAP 1.1 is a format for
exchanging emergency alerts allowing a consistent warning message to
be disseminated simultaneously over many different warning systems.
Participants in the EAS, including broadcasters and state and local
emergency managers, will be required to be in compliance with CAP 1.1
standard within 180 days of its formal adoption by FEMA.
"Arriving at standards and protocols that work for everyone is a
complex process," said Martha Rainville, assistant administrator of
FEMA's National Continuity Programs Directorate. "But FEMA intends to
formally adopt and publish a profile in line with CAP 1.1 early next
year. We are working closely with partners across the government,
private sector and non-profit community to develop a CAP profile that
ensures the interoperability needed to deliver alerts and warnings to
more people in more locations through more paths."
"Messaging standards improve information sharing and provide a
foundation for data interoperability," said David Boyd, director of
the Command, Control and Interoperability Division (CID) in the DHS/
Science and Technology Directorate. "The Division's support of public
alert and warning message standards is critical to our mission of
creating and maintaining a secure and safe nation."
Rainville added, "FEMA looks forward to continuing to work with its
partners to make sure that IPAWS supports and is interoperable with
the various alert and warning systems developed by the state, local,
tribal and territorial emergency managers to protect their residents."
FEMA's partners in developing CAP profiles include the National
Weather Service, Federal Communications Commission, the DHS/Science
and Technology Directorate's Command, Control and Interoperability
Division; Emergency Interoperability Consortium; Organization for the
Advancement of Structured Information Standards; and the International
Association of Emergency Managers.
About FEMA
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for,
preventing, mitigating the effects of responding to, and recovering
from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including
acts of terror.
Contact
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
500 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20472 USA
Tel (Disaster Assistance): +1 (800) 621-FEMA, TTY +1 (800) 462-7585
Tel (News Desk): +1 202-646-4600
