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Thursday, June 28, 2012
N/Warren Town and County News
Page Fifteen
I
A new national pro-
gram will allow some cell
phone users to receive
alerts for the most danger-
ous weather directly to
their phones beginning
this week.
Under the "Wireless
Emergency Alert (WEA)
system, the National
Weather Service will begin
issuing alerts for the most
severe weather through
participating wireless car-
tiers directly to cell phones
in designated areas. The
alerts will be broadcast by
cell towers. Cel! phones
within the selected area
will immediately pick up
the signal, provided they
have the capability to re-
ceive the alerts. If someone
travels into a threat area
after an alert is first sent, a
WEA-capable device will
receive the message when
the person enters the area.
The availability of
WEAs will be dependent
on whether the cartier and
cell phone are equipped to
receive them. All major
wireless carriers and hun-
dreds of smaller carriers
are taking part in WEA on
a voluntary basis. In Iowa,
Verizon, U.S. Cellular and
AT&T have reported they
are ready to carry WEA
alerts, however, .other cel-
lular carriers may be ready
to carry the alerts. People
should check with their
cellular carriers to find out
if WEA alerts are available
in their area and whether
their cell phone is capable
of receiving the alerts. Pro-
vider-specific information
is available at http://
www.ctia.org/consum er
info/safety/index:cfm/
AID/12082.
The WEA system is part
of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency,s
(FEMA) Commercial Mo-
bile Alert System (CMAS).
It is one more tool for fed-
eral, state, local, tribal and
territorial officials to alert
and warn the public. In
addition to weather alerts,
WEAs will relay Presiden-
tial, AMBER and Immi-
nent Threat alerts to mo-
bile phones using cell
broadcast technology that
will not get backlogged
during times of emergency
when wireless voice and
data services are highly
congested.
"This is the first step in
implementing a new
emergency notification
system that has great
promise for Iowans," said
Mark Sch.outen, Iowa
Homeland Security and
Emergency Management
Division (HSEMD) admin-
istrator. "HSEMD is apply-
ing for permission to issue
WEAs so in the future we
will be able to use these
alerts to get critical infor-
marion directly to citizens
through their cell phones."
According to FEMA,
WEAs will look like a text
message and will auto-
matically appear on the
New System Delivers Weather Alerts to Cell Phones
mobile device screen gested. Customers of partici-
showing the type and timeCMAS/WEA comple- pating wireless carriers
of alert along with any ac- ments the existing Emer- with CMAS/WEA-capable
tion that should be taken, gency Alert System (EAS) phones will not need to
The message will be nowhich sends warnings to sign up to receive the alerts
more than 90 characters, television and rad !o via and should automatically
and will have a uniquebroadcast, cable, s tellite- receive WEAs in the event
tone and vibration, indi- and wireline comm.mica- of an emergenc if they
cating a WEA has been re- tions pathways, are located in, or travel to
ceived. If an alert is re-. Who sends the affected geographic
ceived, citizens should fol- CMAS/WEA alerts? area. Wireless customers
low the instructions and Most CMAS/WEA alerts are not charged for the de-
seek additional informa- will be issued by NOAA's livery of Wireless Emer-
tion from radio, television, National Weather Service gency Alerts.
NOAA Weather Radio and(NWS). The NWS can send What does a WEA look
other official sources for weather-related alerts to like on a mobile phone?
emergency information,any region in the country. WEAs use a unique ring
Cell phone users will not CMAS will be used by the tone and vibration to sig-
be charged for the emer- NWS only for the most ira- nal that an alert has ar-
gency messaging and may minent and severe weather rived. The unique vibra-
choose to opt out of receiv- condition (e.g. tornado tion, which distinguishes
ing the WEA alerts, warnings), the alert from a regular
"These alerts are an- Imminent Threat alertstext message, is particu-
other way citizens can en- maybe issued by state and larly helpful to people
sure the safety of their local officials who have with hearing or vision-re-
families," said Schouten. completed a four-step ap- lated disabilities. Alerts
"There are many great plication process and ex- will automatically "pop
tools out there, including ecuted a Memorandum ofup" on the mobile device
NOAA Weather Radio, the Agreement with FEMA screen and will be limited
Emergency Alert Systemgoverning system security, to 90 characters.
and now Wireless Emer-Alerts must meet certain WEAs will not preempt
gency Alerts. The key is for criteria that are established calls in progress. In addi-
citizens to take advantage in the FCC rules to ensure tion, individuals will be
of the safety tools available that only the most urgent able to opt-out of Immi-
to them." messages are sent overnent Threat or AMBER
As with all new cellular CMAS. More informationalerts. Individuals will not
services, it will take time on the application process be able to opt-out of Presi-
for upgrades in infrastruc- may be found at http:// dential alerts.
ture, coverage and handset www.fema.gov/emer- What should I do
technology to allow WEA gency/ipaws/alerting if I get a WEA?
alerts to reach all cellular authorities.shtm#3. Due to the 90 character
customers. The wireless For a list of state and limit, alerts will contain
industry estimates by 2014 local jurisdictions who only basic information. In
most all cell phones on the have applied for IPAWSmost cases the alert will
market will be WEA-ca-access, see the Authorized only indicate the type of
pable. IPAWS Localities web event (e.g. tornado), the
More information on page at http://www.fema, time until the alert expires
CMAS and WEA can be gov/emergency/ipaws/ and recommended action.
found at http://www.fema, authorized localifies.shtm. To get more specific infor-
gov/emergency/ipaws/ Who receives WEA mation, the best response
cmas.shtm. Additional in- messages? is to check other sources of
formation is also con-IPAWSCMASisopera- information, including ra-
tained in the Frequently tional now and all major dio or television, to see if
Asked Questions, below, cell carriers, as well as there is a corresponding
Wireless Emergency hundreds of smaller carri- Emergency Alert System
Aleffs--Frequently ers, are participating in (EAS) message with addi-
Asked Questions CMAS on a voluntary ba- tional details and/or local
What is the Commercialsis. For a list of participat- news coverage of the
Mobile Alert System ing carriers, see the current event.
(CMAS) and Wireless FCC Registry file at http:// How does a C [AS/WEA
Emergency Alerts www. fema.gov/emer- alert rea:h a
(WEA)? gency/ipaws/cmas.shtm, mobile &vice?
The Commercial Mo- As with all new cellular CMAS/WEA alerts are
bile Alert System (CMAS) services, it will take time activated by mthorized
is the system interface to for upgrades ininfrastruc- alerting authorties (gener-
the Wireless Emergencyture, coverage and handset ally, a local or ate agency
Alerts (WEA) service that technology to allow or the Nationfl Weather
wireless carriers are roll- CMAS/WEA alerts to Service). The abrts are tar-
ing out across the nation in reach all cellular custom- geted to spcific geo-
2012. CMAS is a partner- ers. graphic areas, enerally a
ship between FEMA, theWireless carriers.are county. If a CI IAS/WEA-
Federal Communicationscurrently selling mobile capable mobib device is
Commission (FCC), and devices with CMAS/WEA physically located in that
wireless carriers, to en- capability included. While area, it will auomatically
hance public safety, not all handsets now on receive and dsplay, the
CMAS allows public the market are capable of message. Ever" WEA has
safety authorities to use receiving WEAs, some an expirationdate/time
FEMA's Integrated Public phones may be upgrade-and will be re,ent within
Alert and Warning System able and it is. anticipated the affected mea until it
Open Platform for Emer- that most commerciallyexpires; howe r, each in-
gency Networks (IPAWS-available phones will be dividual wirebss device
OPEN) to send geographi- WEA-capable by the endwill display th, alert only
cally targeted, text-like of 2014. Lists of CMAS/ once. If a witless cus-
Wireless Emergency WEA-capablehandsets are tomer travels hto the af-
Alerts to the public. WEAs available from the indi- fected area aft the WEA
will relay Presidential, vidual wireless carriers was originally sent and the
AMBER and Imminent and many carriers havealert has not expired, they
Threat alerts to mobile made their lists available will still receive the alert.
phones using cell broad- on one website located at Will wireless customers
cast technology that will www.ctia.org/WEA. The be charged for
not get backlogged during boxes of devices capable of CMAS/WEA alerts?
times of emergency when receiving WEAs are Wireless customers will
wireless voice and data marked with the Wireless not be charged for the re-
services are highly con- Emergency Alert logo. ceipt of WEA messages. In
addition, alerting authori-
ties will not be charged by
wireless carriers for dis-
tributing CMAS/WEA
alerts.
Are WEAs the same as
text messages?
No, WEAs are not the
same" as text messages.
WEA will not have to be
opened like SMS text mes-
sages, but will "pop up"
on the device's screen. A
key differentiator between
the CMAS/WEA capabil-
ity and the existing Short
Message Service Point-to-
Point (SMS-PP)-- a one-to-
one or one-to-few alerting
service--is that WEA uses
SMS-Cell Broadcast (SMS-
CB), a one-to-many ser-
vice, which simulta-
neously delivers messages
to multiple recipients in a
specified area. By using
SMS-CB as the delivery
technology service, WEAs
avoid the congestion is-
sues currently experienced
by traditional SMS-PP
alerting services, which
translates into faster and
more comprehensive de-
livery of messages during
times Of emergency.
Will CMAS/WEA track a
person's location?
No, CMAS/WEA will
not track an individual's
locations or personal data,
as it uses SMS-CB, a broad-
cast (one-way) technology.
This assures that authori-
ties cannot collect any sub=
scriber-related data, in-
cluding details on who is
in the targeted area, who
has successfully received
the emergency alert, or
who may have opted out.
New Survey Reveals Cereal
(NAPS)--According to a
survey recently conducted by
Kellogg Company, 87 percent
of morns say that their chil-
dren regularly eat cereal for
breakfast--and that many
morns can't be wrong. Eating
breakfast can help start your
child's day offright, and kids'
cereal can help keep the morn-
ings simple. Not only does
cereal help jump-start your
nutritional intake, but it's also
a meal the whole family will
enjoy without breaking the
bank Families that eat cereal
benefit in many ways:
According to a study in
the Journal of the American
Di'etetic Association, regular
cereal eaters, including chil-
dren, tend to have lower body
mass indices (BMI) and are
less likely to be overweight
than those who eat cereal less
frequently.
Cereal provides good
news for morns, as nearly all
moms (95 percent) want to
make sure their kids get
enough vitamins and miner-
als at breakfast, and cereal
is a great solution. Research
indicates that, in the U.S
ready-to-eat cereal and milk
is the leading source of 10
nutrients in children's diets.
In addition, research
backs up what morns already
know: Essential nutrients
missed at breakfast are not
compensated for dmd ng other
meals of the day. Kids e~oy
cereal and morns feel confi-
dent their kids are get~ng the
important nutrients and
energy they need.
Cereal Can Provide
Important Nutrition
It's what is in your bowl flint
counts and cereal has a lot to
offer.
Feel abo t bzeak-
fast. Research shows that
cereal eaters, including those
who eat kids' cereal, have
healthier body weights. You
can feel good knowing your
kids will get the important
nutrients and the energy they
need for the day at a cost of
about 50 cents a bawl--much
more economical than the cost
of most other breakfast
options.
Serve your family a
wholesome breakfast, More
than four out of five (83 per-
cent) morns surveyed say that
Is Mom's Breakfast Partner
A breakfast including cereal
and milk can get your child
off to a good start every day.
at breakfast they are OK giv-
ing their children something
with a little sugar as long as
it also has good nutrients and.
they know that their children
will eat what is served. The
percentage of sugar consumed
by kids from cereal is actually
small. According to research,
about 5 percent of the sugar
consumed by U.S. kids each
day comes from cereal. Plus,
it is a typically low-fat, nutri-
ent,-dense, cholesterol-free food.
Easy and Economical
Breakfast Ideas
Fortunately, getting a good
breakfast on the table in the
morning doesn't require a lot
of time or expense.
Here are some simple tips
for a wholesome breakfast:
Plan in advance.
According to the recent sur-
vey, on average, rooms spend
20 minutes each morning
making breakfast. Save time
at breakfast by setting the
table and putting out the boxes
of cereal the night before.
Make ~ a fam-
ily aclivity. Ask your children
to help with breakfast prepa-
ration. It can foster together-
ness and encourage healthful
eating, plus it saves you time.
Mix it up. The wide vari-
ety of cereals makes finding a
favurite ea~. ~th many great-
tasting options, including
Kellogg~s Froot Loops and
Fr ed iWm Wheats,
there is no need to sacrifice
great taste for nutrition--you
can have bottL For even more
nutrients without a lot of fuss,
you c~n add berries cr bananas
to your cereal.
Learn More
For more information
about kids' cereal, visit
wwW.loveyourcereal.com.
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