Austin residents will receive a test alert from a new emergency communication service on Sept. 29 as the city gains authority to send expanded safety alerts to the public, according to a city news release.
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, is a Federal Emergency Management Agency system that allows local governments to send out emergency warnings through cell phone towers, television and radio. FEMA requires regular testing of the communication system. Previously, this technology was only available to counties, which required Austin’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management office to take extra steps before they could send out an alert.
“Because Austin stretches into Williamson County and a little bit of Hays County, that would require us … to rely on three different counties to send out a message,” said David Wiechmann, acting public information officer and marketing program manager for the Austin Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “Now we have the authority and the ability to alert everyone in Austin.”
Wiechmann said the city has not determined which events will trigger an emergency alert, but the Emergency Management Agency will lead discussions with public safety officials about next steps.
“We would work with the fire department, the police department and with Travis County’s Emergency Management (office) to determine when we should use (IPAWS),” Wiechmann said.
The technology is unique because the city can send notifications to people within a specific geographic boundary, which officials can customize based on the reach of cell towers in the area, Wiechmann said.
Wiechmann said these alerts can be helpful before a flood or a strong rain event, especially for people living in a high-risk flood zone, which parts of the University are in, according to a Travis County flood risk map.
“Not being able to receive information in a flood in your neighborhood, or a wildfire in your neighborhood, or any other kind of emergency where we need to alert you to tell you that this is a dangerous situation, … is preventing you from possibly taking life-saving action,” Wiechmann said.
The first official test of the system will take place on Sept. 29 at approximately 3 p.m., according to the news release. IPAWS uses the Wireless Emergency Alerts system to contact cell phones and the Emergency Alerts System to send messages to televisions and radio stations. The test is necessary to ensure each system works, and that the public is aware of how an official alert will look, according to the news release.
“These types of alerts save lives in an emergency,” said Jim Redick, the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management director, in the news release. “Testing both WEA and EAS together will allow us to ensure our alerting systems are ready, effective and reliable when we need them.”
