Aware is published by NOAA’s National Weather Service to enhance communications between NWS and the Emergency Management Community Aware and other government and Private Sector Partners. February 2014 Sharing their success stories of coordinated by a state emergency preparedness and resiliency management (EM) office. The state’s From the Top Serving as an example by Association of Broadcasters must educating employees on work- submit a waiver request to the place preparedness Federal Communication Commission Weather-Ready Nation (FCC) on behalf of EAS participants Ambassador Initiative To support the WRN Ambassador to include radio and television broad- initiative NOAA will: casters, cable service providers and key EM agencies, NWS and other Dr. Louis Uccellini, NWS Director Provide WRN outreach content partners. The FCC requires receipt of Explore innovative approaches the waiver request well in advance for collaboration with other of the planned Live Code Test dates. organizations If the FCC approves the waiver, Assist with StormReady/Tsu- NWS and other participants conduct Louis namiReady opportunities for a comprehensive public information Uccellini, communities campaign to ensure the public is fully NWS Formally recognize organiza- informed—and understands—that the Director tions as WRN Ambassadors Live Code Test is just that, a test. Many NWS offices add banners to Building a Weather-Ready Nation their web pages, air announcements requires more than government over NOAA Weather Radio, coordi- I am pleased to announce the alone. We must involve everyone nate with key partners and send out launch of the Weather-Ready Nation in an effort to move people—and a Public Information Statement. Ambassador™ (WRN) initiative. The society—to heed warnings, take NWS headquarters can arrange feedback, ideas and suggestions we action, and influence their circles of teleconferences to ensure a smooth received from the national, regional, family, friends and social networks process between regional headquar- and local level as well as external to act appropriately. ters and local offices in the months partners were invaluable during the If you have questions, please and weeks before the planned test. development of this new initiative. don’t hesitate to email the WRN For further information, contact The WRN Ambassador initiative team at [email protected]. Tim Schott. is an effort to formally recognize NOAA partners who are improving the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) nation’s readiness against extreme weather, water and climate events. Dissemination News In late 2013, the FCC asked As a WRN Ambassador, organizations a group of WEA partners to make commit to working with NOAA and recommendations to the FCC other Ambassadors to strengthen regarding WEA testing. The group has national resilience against extreme NWS to Take Part in met several times to discuss options. weather. EAS Live Event Code Tests There are a number of complexi- To be officially recognized as a ties which make this a challenging WRN Ambassador, an organization Tim Schott, NWS Dissemination subject. commits to: Services Meteorologist Participants in the group include commercial wireless carriers, Promoting WRN messages and NWS is planning to take part members of the EM community, NWS, themes to its stakeholders in several live code tests for the FEMA, FCC and others. Check future Engaging with NOAA personnel Emergency Alert System (EAS) in edition of Aware for updates. For on potential collaboration 2014. Often, NWS conducts these further information on WEA, contact opportunities tests in conjunction with a national Mike Gerber. preparedness week or an exercise Decision Support Using Virtual Operations Support Teams During Extreme Events Kerry Jones, WCM, NWS Albuquerque, NM; Rick Smith, NWS Norman; Corey Pieper, SRH; Jeff Phillips, EM Los Ranchos, NM; Scott Spratt, WCM, NWS Melbourne, FL A Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST) is one way for EMs and local NWS offices to help harness the power of social media for EMs Tsunami damage at Kodiak, AK, after the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and and Weather Forecast Office (WFO) Tsunamis. operations. A VOST is a group of trusted agents, normally organized rapidly expanded to include coun- and directed by municipal, county, tries outside the United States. Tsunami Preparedness or state emergency management. Several WFOs, including Norman, Week, March 23-29 A VOST can help expand the ability Melbourne and Albuquerque have to engage with the public before, benefited from the use of VOSTs Christa Rabenold, Mitigation during and after emergencies. in the past couple of years. These Specialist, NWS Tsunami Program The VOST makes use of new offices have assisted EMs in setting communication technologies and formal and informal guidelines A tsunami could strike the U.S. social media tools to lend support via as well as provided EMs access coastline at any time. And although the Internet at crucial times. VOSTs to private NWSChat rooms dedi- a tsunami cannot be prevented, are given social media and web- cated to local or regional VOSTs. you can mitigate adverse impacts based missions to manage and are Key benefits of VOST include: through community preparedness, specifically asked to find information timely warnings and effective and disseminate it, to spot social Providing ability to focus on the response. media trends, monitor the public web and multiple social media To boost tsunami preparedness voice and amplify official messages. platforms during extreme events efforts in the United States, NOAA, This information is then shared Introducing a variety of skill sets FEMA, and the U.S. Geological with NWS. The volume of informa- and an extended network, both Survey in coordination with the tion not directed to the NWS about professionally and socially National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation an ongoing event that is available Bringing a keen ability to see Program (NTHMP), a partnership on social media is staggering. The trends and issues during a among these federal agencies and VOST’s efforts in distilling some of weather-related incident or 29 U.S. states and territories, are the most-critical information in real disaster promoting and supporting national time, and providing that to the NWS Providing a vital filter for EMs Tsunami Preparedness Week, March has proven very beneficial. and WFO staff 23–29. During this week, NOAA and VOSTs are activated by EMs much its partners will promote safety and the way SKYWARN Spotter/Amateur To find out more, see: awareness and urge coastal residents Radio Groups are to perform specific and visitors to prepare themselves functions in support of affected Virtual Operations Support and their families for a tsunami. organizations and jurisdictions. Groups This year, Tsunami Prepared- The idea of and use of the term VOST Training: Pinterest ness Week will also commemorate VOST was coined by EM Coordinator Social Media and Emergency the anniversary of the Great Alaska Jeff Phillips of Los Ranchos in Albu- Management Earthquake and Tsunamis. The querque, NM, back in March 2011. magnitude 9.2 earthquake occurred Since 2011, the VOST concept has in Alaska’s Prince William Sound on 2 | NWS Aware February 2014 March 27, 1964, and remains the country to encourage preparedness largest recorded earthquake in U.S. and commemorate the 1964 event history and the second largest in and provides links to tsunami-related the world. preparedness information. Valdez, Anchorage and many The page is updated regularly as villages along the Alaska Coast were new information becomes available. significantly damaged or destroyed During Tsunami Preparedness Week, by the earthquake and the tsunamis follow NWS on Facebook and Twitter that followed. More than 130 people and share the messages with your died in Alaska, Oregon and Cali- constituents. fornia. Damage from the tsunamis alone, which also impacted the U.S. and Canadian west coasts and and NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley Hawaii, was estimated at almost Outreach Innovation Forecaster Maria Torres with Pastor $1 billion (2013 dollars). Abiel Ake at the Radio Esperanza In conjunction with Tsunami studios in Edinburg, TX Preparedness Week, NWS will Radio Brings Weather lead three tsunami exercises: Readiness Across Borders Her second broadcast described NWS field operations and the differ- CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX14 (Carib- ence between watches and warnings. NWS Insider Staff, Silver Spring, MD bean/Northwestern Atlantic) Future broadcasts will focus on the LANTEX14 (Gulf of Mexico) new NOAA Weather Radio Spanish PACIFEX14 (Pacific Coast). To expand its reach to the local Language transmitters set to debut Spanish-speaking community, NWS in 2014. These exercises will help to Brownsville, TX, is collaborating Radio Esperanza has a large improve the effectiveness of the with Radio Esperanza KOIR 88.5-FM footprint in Mexico, especially at tsunami warning system. They and KRIO 97.7-FM/910-AM, a Chris- night. Some transmissions reach provide an opportunity for EMs to tian non–profit radio network with as far as Guatemala and Honduras, test operational lines of communi- extensive coverage in south Texas nearly 1000 miles away. The station cations, review tsunami response and northeastern Mexico also has a large and growing social procedures and promote tsunami Once each month, NWS Fore- media presence. preparedness. EMs are invited to caster Maria Torres takes the mike in In mid-December 2013, more take part at varying levels ranging “La Hora Comunitaria” (Community than 25,000 followers were on its from drills to full-scale exercises. As Hour), a Spanish–language interview Facebook Page. EMs well know, regular exercising of and call-in program. Torres helps response plans is a critical prepared- prepare the local Hispanic commu- ness activity. nity for hazardous weather and tells NOAA also is supporting Alaska listeners how they can help build a Integrated Warning Team Shield 2014, an exercise based on Weather-Ready Nation. Workshops Seek to the 1964 event being led by the “There are a lot of non–English Improve Communication Alaska Division of Homeland Security speakers across the Rio Grande and Emergency Management.