Wenchuan, China (2008 Earthquake)
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WARNING SYSTEMS Graham S. Leonard1, David M. Johnston2, Chris E. Gregg3 1 Massey University, Lower Hutt, New Zealand 2 GNS Science, Massey University, Lower Hutt, New Zealand 3 East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
Synonyms Alerting system; Early warning systems; End-to-end warning system; Immediate warning system; Short fuse warning Definition A warning system is a network of interrelated sensors and processes that detect signals of a possible or imminent dangerous event and provide information that people can use to make protective action decisions before the moment of impact. A natural hazard warning system is usually technology based, monitors signs of a natural hazard, evaluates the signs against rules and notifies people, triggering a human response. End-to-end warning systems consider, or are owned by, responding communities. Early warning systems are often synonymous with warning systems. Public notification systems are the mechanisms by which the public are notified within a warning system. Natural warnings are provided by nature. They are often synonymous with environmental cues, but are distinguished from them in that some geological or meteorological phenomena, for example, serve as a warning of an event, whereas other phenomena serve only as a cue that an event may occur.
Informal warnings are provided by people not acting in an official warning capacity (e.g., a friend calling another friend to alert them of a dangerous event). Official warnings are provided by people acting in an official warning capacity. Social warnings or social cues are provided via observations of other people’s behavior.
Introduction Warnings are a natural part of everyday life for humans. When we detect fear or pain our built-in biological warning system is letting us know something unusual is happening and that it may be detrimental to our health. Natural hazard warning systems are usually technological, designed to detect hazardous events and inform us of those events in a time frame that permits us to take protective action, perhaps through evacuation, sheltering, or protecting property (see Lindell and Perry, 2004). The use of a canary to detect gas in a coal mine is one early and well-known warning system. In this case, a miner’s canary encapsulates two core components of most warning systems: monitoring (canary biology) and notification (the canary stops singing). Warning system research has increasingly recognized the need for “people centered” warning systems (summarized by Basher, 2006), which are not considered effective unless they trigger appropriate human behavior. This requires that the hazard detection and monitoring aspects of a warning system be integrated with emergency management and the public. Such an integrated warning system focused on reaching at-risk communities, ideally managed and owned by those communities, is often referred to as an “end-to-end” warning system. A warning system is only as effective as its weakest link. That is, a failure of one component may render the whole sys
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