HazCollect, Non Weather Emergency Message (NWEM)
Sending a Non-weather Emergency Message (NWEM) begins when an incident, or threat of an incident, creates an emergency situation. Local incidents occur everyday, but if an emergency is of sufficient magnitude, a government warning authority may need to notify the media and the public within their jurisdiction. These notifications include specific actions necessary to reduce the impact of the emergency such as evacuation orders or instructions for sheltering in place.
The government warning authority composes a warning message based on specific knowledge of the local area and the incident using the NWEM authoring tool in DMIS. The NWEM is then posted (sent) to the DMIS server where it is authenticated and forwarded to the HazCollect server. At the HazCollect server, the message is validated against the originator's pre-authorized geographic warning area, and reformatted for distribution through the NWS dissemination systems.
Once the message moves through these communication channels, it is disseminated via such well known and well used methods as NOAA Weather Radio, NOAA Weather Wire Service, Emergency Manager's Weather Information Network (EMWIN), the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Internet web pages, cell phones, pagers, facsimiles, etc. NWS messages also travel through the communication networks of private and commercial vendors enabling the widest distribution of the emergency message possible.
For further information about HazCollect, visit the NWS HazCollect Page or the HazCollect section.
