Standard Emergency Warning Signal
Encyclopedia
The Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) is a warning siren
used in Australia
to alert the public of danger. The siren is played over radio, television or public address
systems in public places to warn of bushfire, flood
, cyclone
, tsunami
, earthquake
or terrorist attack.
system which sends standard text messages from the phone number 0444 444 444 which has information about a potential emergency, and a phone call to landline
s which starts with the SEWS tone with the words "Emergency! Emergency!" followed by a message regarding the threat and a phone number and/or website with more information. The National Alert System has been tested by the Country Fire Service
in Kangaroo Island
, South Australia
and has also been tested by other agencies.
warnings. It was adopted as a national emergency warning signal on 21 May 1995 .
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
used in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to alert the public of danger. The siren is played over radio, television or public address
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
systems in public places to warn of bushfire, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
, cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
, tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
, earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
or terrorist attack.
Use
The SEWS tone has also been adopted for use in the new Emergency Alert AustraliaEmergency Alert Australia
Emergency Alert Australia is an emergency communications scheme set up by the Australian Commonwealth Government in response to the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, utilizing telecommunications systems as another form of alert for citizens....
system which sends standard text messages from the phone number 0444 444 444 which has information about a potential emergency, and a phone call to landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
s which starts with the SEWS tone with the words "Emergency! Emergency!" followed by a message regarding the threat and a phone number and/or website with more information. The National Alert System has been tested by the Country Fire Service
Country Fire Service
The SA Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia in Australia. Many parts of Australia are sparsely populated whilst at the same time they are under significant risk of bushfire. Due to economics, it is prohibitively expensive for each Australian town...
in Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and has also been tested by other agencies.
Origins
The SEWS was developed by the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) in the 1970s for tropical cycloneTropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
warnings. It was adopted as a national emergency warning signal on 21 May 1995 .