// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Standard Emergency Warning Signal say? "Signal"ing for help.
| Type | Emergency warning and notification system |
|---|---|
| Branding | Standard Emergency Warning Signal |
| Country | |
Launch date | 1970s |
| Dissolved | 1 October 2026 (Cell Broadcast features) |
Broadcast | All terrestrial radio and television broadcasters, text messaging to mobile telephones, auto-dialling to landline telephones |
| Replaced by | AusAlert (Cell Broadcast features) |
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.
The SEWS forms part of the "Australia's Emergency Warning Arrangements".[1] The framework guides states and the Commonwealth in the use of the signal.[1]: 15–20
Introduction
[edit source]Following Cyclone Ada in 1970, there was a call for a national plan to deal with disasters, given "inexcusable delays associated with the public warning of the path of this cyclone".[2]
The SEWS was developed by the Bureau of Meteorology in the 1970s for tropical cyclone warnings, and was broadcast on radios and televisions. It was raised in 1975 that, in conjunction with the alert tone, the warnings themselves should be given in the local language where relevant, such as pidgin in the Torres Strait.[3] In November 1976, it was mentioned the cyclone warnings and the siren broadcasts were affecting tourism in Queensland.[4] Following the 1977 Royal Commission on Australia Government Administration, cyclone warnings were still considered the Bureau of Meteorology's highest priority.[5] The alert was even incorporated into fiction reading.[6]
National signal adoption
[edit source]It was adopted as a national emergency warning signal on 21 May 1995.[7] Its use must be authorised and not to be used for advertising.[8]
Telephone alerting
[edit source]In 2009 the Emergency Alert system was established,[9] as a location-based SMS (LB-SMS) system.[10] It sends send standard text messages from the telephone number 0444 444 444 which has information about a potential emergency, and a phone call to landlines 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.[9]
The system was used in the 2019–20 Black Summer Bushfires, with 492,938 landline calls and 4,194,576 text messages sent to residents in affected areas.[11] By 2026 it was estimated the Emergency Alert system has been used on more than 2250 occasions, and generated almost 70 million messages.[12]
The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements ("Bushfires Royal Commission") found limitations in the Emergency Alert system,[13]: 300 and recommended adoption of improved technologies for mobile telephones. AusAlert is planned to be introduced in late-2026 to provide warnings via mobile phone broadcast. It will use a different tone.
See also
[edit source]References
[edit source]- 1 2 "Australia's Emergency Warning Arrangements" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia (Attorney-General's Department). April 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "National plan wanted for disasters". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 526. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 January 1970. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Letter to the editor". Torres News. Vol. Q, no. 47. Queensland, Australia. 25 November 1975. p. 17. Retrieved 7 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Cyclone alerts 'affecting tourism'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 51, no. 14, 530. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 November 1976. p. 15. Retrieved 7 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Policy committee on meteorology to be formed". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 14, 889. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 September 1977. p. 8. Retrieved 7 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Cry of the wild wind". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 49, no. 52. Australia, Australia. 16 June 1982. p. 57. Retrieved 7 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS), Bureau of Meteorology, 2009
- ↑ "Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS)". NSW Rural Fire Service. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- 1 2 "New national emergency alert system now live". Government News. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ Chanthadavong, Aimee (12 August 2021). "Canberra wants to use a national messaging system to alert citizens about emergencies". ZDNET. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "Chapter 13: Emergency information and warnings". Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "What is Emergency Alert?". Emergency Alert. State of Victoria. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "Report". Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
External links
[edit source]- Official website Emergency Alert telephone messaging
- Disaster Mitigation (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
- Sample of siren sound