DMIS Tools Course
Lesson 4 - Non-Weather Emergency Messages
For local authorities approved to use the NOAA
HAZCollect System
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Topic Outline
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What are NWEMs?
What’s 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?
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Non-Weather Emergency Messages (NWEMs) are:
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Warnings used to inform the general public of various types of
emergencies
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CAP-standard compliant
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Applicable for the full spectrum of alerts (other than weather)
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Distributable to local, state, regional, or national levels
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Distributed via the NOAA Weather Wire and the Weather
Radio
DMIS
The Public
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What’s the Operational Flow?
Message
Posted via
DMIS
Incident
occurs
Message
Prepared
Broadcast over
ALL NWS
communication
modes
Reformatting to
include Text-toSpeech Technology
Message in
HAZCollect
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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:
1.
COG created in DMIS
2.
COG has requested broadcast rights through NOAA
3.
NOAA has approved the COG
4.
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
Icon
Description
Working Alert
Posted Alert (can also have an Attachment)
Working Alert with Attachment
Alert Posted from another COG
Alert Posted from another COG with an
Attachment
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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
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To create a
new NWEM:
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Select File ►
New
NWEM, or
Click the
New NWEM
button.
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Creating a New NWEM
Alert Tab/Screen
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Creating a New NWEM
Alert 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 NWEM
Alert 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 NWEM
Alert Detail/Additional NWEM Information
(cont.)
2. Enter text in the Headline
field
3. Enter text in the
Description field
Remember:
A. This is going to be broadcast
to the public; be absolutely,
positively certain this is what
you want to say, and
B. The Description field may
only contain letters,
numbers, + (plus sign), (minus sign), period, or . . .
(ellipsis). No commas,
colons, or semi-colons!
C. Copy / paste may only be
done from Notepad
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Creating a New NWEM
Add 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
7.
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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 NWEM
Additional Fields
Optional
fields
Additional
required
fields
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Creating a New NWEM
Other 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.
14.
Click on the checkbox by the locations to
select areas to receive the NWEM.
15.
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.)
16.
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
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To save the NWEM, click the Save button or select File
►Save.
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Saving a Copy of an NWEM
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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
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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.
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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
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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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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:
1. Navigate to the Alerts List and double click
on the POSTED, UNEXPIRED VERSION of
the message to be corrected.
2. When the message displays select File
►Correction.
3. When the Enter Name screen appears,
enter the name of the Correction message
and click OK.
4. The NWEM Correction screen will display
but none of the fields are editable. Doubleclick on the event listed in the Alert Detail
field. The Additional NWEM Information –
CORRECTION screen is opened.
5. 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 Operator’s Course - Lesson 4
Non-Weather Emergency Messages
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