Each alert has it's alert has its own function and time that local, state and federal agencies can use it.
The blaring beep comes from your TV screen or radio before an important message. The repeated vibrations or rings from cellphones, these are the sounds of an emergency alert being sent to the people in local communities, states and the nation.
There are three major alert systems: Wireless Emergency Alerts, Emergency Alert System and Opt-In Alert Systems.
Each system has different ways of communicating with people, but all of the emergency alert systems provide a way to let people know when there is something wrong.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
WEAs are sent to people's wireless devices, depending on where they are located and if the information pertains to them.
These alerts come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). State and local agencies can also send out alerts using WEA.
The types of things people are alerted for using WEA can include:
- Amber Alerts (for missing children)
- Silver Alerts (for missing adults older in age)
- Ashanti Alerts (for missing adults that are too old for Amber Alerts and too young for Silver Alerts)
- Blue Alerts (for Officer-Involved Shooting suspects or hazardous people towards police and the public)
- Anything that is threatening to the safety or lives of the people receiving the message
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
EAS alerts are sent through televisions and radios, either locally or nationally.
These alerts can be sent from FEMA of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service. The president is the one that decides when a message can be sent nation-wide; this function is typically delegated to FEMA to decide.
The NWS uses EAS on local and state levels to alert people of weather and natural disasters.
For state or local emergencies, there are authorized personnel on each level that can send out messages using EAS.
Opt-In Alerts
The system used for opt-in alerts can vary by region, but operates similarly in what reasons people are notified. Alerts received could be about extreme weather or natural disasters, road closures, missing people, or evacuations. These alerts are managed by the local agency that set them up.
In the Sacramento area, Sacramento, Placer and Yolo Counties have teamed up to provide theSacramento Region Emergency Notification System. This system can call your home phone, work phone orcellphone. It can also send text alerts via cellphone and email.
Unlike WEA and EAS, people must sign up for an opt-in alert system. Also with opt-in alerts, people that do not live in the area of the alerts can still sign up to receive them.
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FAQs
Amber alerts - when a child under the age of 17 is abducted. Silver alerts – when a senior citizen is missing. Blue alerts - issued to help capture an offender at large who has killed or injured a law enforcement officer.
What is a grey alert? ›
be moved. Code Gray: Combative or violent patient. Amber Alert: Infant or child missing or abducted.
Why do I keep getting emergency alerts? ›
This is likely sent by Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), an alerting platform used by emergency management officials to disseminate public safety information via geographically targeted text to mobile phones.
What are the four emergency alert categories? ›
"National Alerts" issued by the President of the United States or the Administrator of FEMA; "Imminent Threat" alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life; "AMBER Alerts" about missing children; and. "Public Safety Messages" conveying recommendations for saving lives and property.
What is a black alert? ›
An Ebony Alert is a resource available to law enforcement agencies investigating the suspicious or unexplainable disappearance of a black woman or black person. The Ebony Alert will provide immediate. information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of missing black persons. Ebony Alert Criteria.
What are all the colored alerts? ›
The alerts program highlights a strategic partnership between law enforcement, the community, traditional and social media, and other partners to effectively provide the public with actionable information relating to a missing person and affect a quick, safe recovery. California has six recognized alerts: AMBER Alert, ...
What is a Gold Alert mean? ›
A “gold alert” is activated throughout the hospital upon initial sign of a septic patient. This alert allows all departments to be aware that a septic patient is present and will require rapid care.
What is a white alert? ›
1. ( in military or civilian defense) an all-clear signal, directive, etc., indicating that the danger of air raid no longer exists. 2. a return to normal conditions following an attack or a threat of attack.
What does pink alert mean? ›
What is a code pink? • A code pink is a widely accepted. emergency code to alert staff that an. infant or child is missing or has been. abducted.
Why am I getting multiple emergency alerts? ›
Repeated Alerts
Multiple alerts might stem from various apps or settings. Check notification settings or contact your service provider for assistance.
An emergency alert is not the same as an ordinary text message. When you receive an emergency alert, your telephone will vibrate and play a loud sound – regardless of whether you are on a call, have your phone in silent mode or similar.
What does CMAS stand for on a phone? ›
Federal Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS)
What is a purple alert? ›
Ron DeSantis signed the Purple Alert into law in July 2021, and it went into effect the following summer. The law required local law enforcement agencies to report missing adults under 60 with mental or cognitive disabilities to the state law enforcement agency for statewide alerts.
What is a missing person alert called? ›
The alerts plan highlights a strategic partnership between California law enforcement, the community, the media, Twitter, and other partners to effectively provide the public with actionable information relating to a missing person and affect a quick, safe recovery. California has four recognized alerts: AMBER Alert, ...
Has an EAS alarm ever been used? ›
Although the system was never used for a national emergency, it was activated more than 20,000 times between 1976 and 1996 to broadcast civil emergency messages and warnings of severe weather hazards.
What are the different alerts on iPhone? ›
Your iPhone will alert you when there's a message, voicemail, email or other updates. Your iPhone can alert you with a sound, or a text alert on your screen. There are different alert styles notifications, banners, and badges. You can also choose to not have any type of alerts on your iPhone by modifying settings.
What are the different government alerts on iPhone? ›
Alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life. Alerts for extreme weather conditions. AMBER alerts (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Public Safety Alerts.
What is a golden alert? ›
GOLDEN ALERT (IMPAIRED PERSON)
An “impaired” person is one with a developmental delay, autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, or physical, mental, or cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's, whose disappearance poses a credible threat to the health or safety of the person.
