The StateAlert public emergency warning system is a public emergency communication system designed to increase community resilience to withstand the effects of natural and human-induced hazards of all types.

In times of emergency:

• StateAlert prevents and reduces community impact of emergency events through efficient and effective public communication.

• StateAlert builds community resilience through increased public awareness of risks, appropriate responses, and ongoing programs, and;
• StateAlert stops false alarms by providing positive confirmation of non-emergency status.

StateAlert enables multiple collaborating Hazard Management Agencies to coordinate their public communications.

A web-based user interface enables remote access for responders. Fine-grained, secure user access enables support for existing business requirements and procedures.

StateAlert is a web-based multi-channel alerting application developed for the Government of Western Australia by Ovis Pty Ltd. The StateAlert system is based on award-winning research, recognised by an Australian Attorney General's Department Emergency Management Australia Safer Communities Award, and is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), an XML standard developed by an international group of more than 130 emergency managers and information and telecommunications experts. The system is compatibility with a wide range of telecommunications carriers and emergency sensing and alerting systems.

Alerting

Delivery of urgent messages to targetted recipients is the core function of the StateAlert system. StateAlert is designed to save lives.

Emergencies happen when they are not expected. When members of the community hear about an unexpected event, they look for confirmation. “Did I hear correctly?” “Can this be true?” When people do not find the confirmation, they tend not to act. One of the main benefits of multi-channel warning systems is they provide this confirmation.

The StateAlert system is designed to automatically deliver consistently worded and formatted alerts over many channels of communication in order to:

• maximize the number of intended recipients receiving the message;
• maximize the opportunities for recipients to receive unambiguous confirmation of the message;
• maximize the number of recipients who take the required action.

Methods of Targeting Recipients

• The General Public, defined by Area;
• Predefined Contact Lists.

Public Alert recipients are defined by areas specified on a map; alerts are sent to everyone within the area. The StateAlert system contains a database of telephone subscribers used to send voice messages to people living in the specified area. People who have requested unlisted phone numbers, however, may be left out. These people can use the public StateAlert opt-in web site to register their phone number for emergency alerts. The opt-in web site is also useful for anyone wishing to register email, fax, or SMS contact details.

StateAlert uses a state-of-the art mapping application, configurable to provide absolute simplicity or full GIS functionality. It can integrate an agencies' existing dataset, which may be contain valuable data developed over years, or basic area maps.

Group Alert recipients are defined by predefined named lists. These lists may contain any number of recipients and serve any purpose. A "Broadcast Media" group, for example, may address messages to all Television and Radio stations in the state; an "Emergency Callout" group may contain addresses of all volunteer emergency responders in the region; the "Senior Executive" group might be used to send messages to top executives and bureaucrats. The contact management system can be integrated with existing contact directories and management systems.

Communication Channels

Public Emergency Warning Systems must alert the relevant recipients to rapidly changing situations, but people tolerate only a very few unsolicited messages before they begin to ignore them. StateAlert allows Agencies to maintain the effectiveness of emergency alerts by providing a combination of push and pull channels. Typically, an intial alert will be broadcast to all affected members of the public over voice, fax, email, loudspeakers, and broadcast media. This "push" alert will contain details of "pull" channels such as the automated public dial-in number and participating web sites. An integrated RSS feed means interested community websites (e.g.: local council or surf clubs sites) can automatically include the latest alerts for a specified area.

Importantly, the "pull" channels are available in times of no emergency. This allows people to get reassurance that they should not be alarmed in the case of unusual events (a loud noise, say, or an unusual smell). This also provides public reassurance that the system is always functioning.

Push channels:

• Telephone (Voice)
• SMS (and Pagers)
• Fax
• Email

Pull channels:

• Public dial-in voicemail
• RSS newsfeed

Voicemail

The Voicemail module provides a dial-up Public information service providing the latest alert updates, general safety information, or confirmation of all-clear. The Voicemail system provides for messages to be addressed to any individual postcode, or placed within a general information category, accessed by the public via a voice menu system.

Authorised System Users may review, create, or delete voicemail messages using a web-based user interface or a menu-based telephone system. Messages are automatically cleared from Voice Mailboxes 14 days from posting and replaced with a default message.

Integrated RSS Feed

On the internet, it is difficult to predict where people will look for confirmation. StateAlert’s integrated RSS feed means local councils, surf clubs, volunteer service organisations, etc. can always display the latest alerts relevant to their geographic area. This means people looking to their local surf club or council web site for confirmation of a tsunami are more likely to find it, and therefore more likely to be able to take action.

Auditing

The StateAlert system incorporates a comprehensive and flexible reporting facility providing feedback on broadcast status and received responses. In addition, all system activity is logged by agency and user, providing an essential resource for organisational and operational quality improvement and post-incident investigation.

System Administration

The StateAlert access system can be configured to support most existing operating practices and procedures, allowing fine-grained control of who is allowed to do what in the system. Additionally, different users and different collaborating organisations can have private views on data, to maintain privacy and security. This is useful, for example, for maintaining lists of members of the judiciary: one person may be responsible for maintaining the contact details, while others may have permission to send alerts to the list but not to see the specific contact details.