State
of Oklahoma
State EAS Plan
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM OPERATIONAL PLAN
This
plan was prepared by the Oklahoma State Emergency Communications Committee in
cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management; the
National Weather Service–Oklahoma; the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters;
the Oklahoma Cable Association; State and local officials; and the broadcasters
and cable systems of Oklahoma.
NOTE:
Internal EAS Local Area operating procedures of the broadcasters, cable
systems, State officials or the National Weather Service, relating to the State
EAS Operational Plan may be attached as an Annex to this plan.
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) CHECKLIST
FOR BROADCAST STATIONS AND CABLE SYSTEMS
____________________________________ _________________________________________
Your EAS Local Area Your EAS Monitoring Assignments
______ 1. All personnel trained in EAS procedures
and in the use of EAS equipment.
______ 2. EAS encoders and decoders installed and
operating.
______ 3. Correct assignments monitored,
according to EAS State or Local Area plans.
______ 4. Weekly and monthly EAS tests received
and logged.
______ 5. Weekly and monthly EAS test
transmissions made and logged.
______ 6. EAS Operating Handbook immediately
available.
______ 7. Copies of EAS State and Local Area
plans immediately available.
______ 8. Copy of FCC EAS Rules and Regulations
(Part 11) and, if appropriate, AM station emergency operation (Section 73.1250)
available.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. EAS
HEADER CODE ANALYSIS.......................................................................... 11
B. OKLAHOMA
ORIGINATOR CODES.................................................................... 12
C. OKLAHOMA
EVENT CODES............................................................................... 12
D. OKLAHOMA
COUNTY-LOCATION CODES....................................................... 14
E. OKLAHOMA
"L-CODE" FORMATS...................................................................... 15
A. REQUIRED
WEEKLY TEST.................................................................................. 17
B. REQUIRED
MONTHLY TEST............................................................................... 17
C. TIME-DURATION
& COUNTY-LOCATION CODES........................................... 18
A. TEST
SCRIPTS AND FORMATS........................................................................... 19
B. REAL-ALERT
ACTIVATION SCRIPTS AND FORMATS..................................... 21
GUIDANCE FOR ORIGINATORS OF EAS ALERTS......................................................... 24
A. GUIDANCE
FOR NWS PERSONNEL.................................................................... 24
B. GUIDANCE
FOR CIVIL AUTHORITIES............................................................... 24
C. GUIDANCE
FOR NUCLEAR & INDUSTRIAL PLANTS...................................... 25
GUIDANCE IN PROGRAMMING EAS DECODERS......................................................... 25
A. MODES
OF OPERATION...................................................................................... 26
B. COUNTY-LOCATION
CODES TO USE................................................................ 26
C. REQUIRED
EVENT CODES.................................................................................. 26
D. PROGRAMMING
SEQUENCE EXAMPLE............................................................ 27
ANNEXES
A. LIST OF DESIGNATED OFFICIALS
B. EAS CODES TRANSMITTED BY KEY EAS SOURCES
C. OK STATE EAS COMMITTEES
D. OK EAS DEFINITIONS
E. OK EAS LOCAL AREAS PLAN
F. OK EAS STATE MONITORING TABLE
G. OK STATE RELAY WEB AND LIST
_____________________________________ ____________ Information
Bureau,
CONCUR:
This
Plan is the FCC-mandated document outlining the organization and implementation
of the Oklahoma State Emergency Alert System (EAS). It is the guideline for
broadcasters, cable TV operators, and government officials of Oklahoma to
determine: their mandated and optional monitoring assignments, codes to be used
in the EAS Header sequence in this state, schedule of the Required Monthly
Tests (RMT's) which must be relayed by all broadcasters and certain cable
operators within 60 minutes of reception, and any other procedures for
dissemination of information and instructions in threatened or actual
emergencies. This Plan is an adjunct to the FCC EAS Rules, and is not meant to
be a summary, in whole or in part, of those Rules. Consult FCC Rules Part 11
for general rules regarding the Emergency Alert System.
The
task of this Plan was to determine a primary and secondary delivery method for
each level of EAS alert. This goal was achieved and surpassed for many
broadcasters and cable operators. For stations/operators electing to monitor
only the two assigned sources, two paths for each alert are provided.
Stations/operators
adding the optional sources will have redundant paths on some alerts. Stations
with direct Oklahoma News Network satellite reception will have 2 to 3 paths
for all alerts. Using the Designations and Definitions outlined in this
document, the redundancy of the Oklahoma State EAS Plan is shown diagrammed on
Annex G. For clarity, the first page shows the distribution paths for each
level of EAS drawn out separately. Thus, some communications paths are
delivering more than one level of EAS alert. The second page maps out all of
the State EAS paths on one diagram. Consult the section of this Plan entitled Table
of Monitoring Assignments to
determine the specific two mandated and the two optional sources that each
broadcaster and cable operator should monitor.
Title
47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i) and (o), 303(r), 524(g) and 606; and 47 C.F.R. Part 11,
FCC Rules and Regulations, Emergency Alert System (EAS) as pertains to day-to-day
emergency operations.
These
procedures provide background data and prescribe specific procedures for the
broadcast and cable media to issue emergency information and warning to the
general public in Oklahoma or any portion thereof within the broadcast coverage
and cable system service area, at the request of designated State and Federal
government officials.
The Oklahoma SECC sees
the EAS as growing and evolving once the system is in place, especially at the
local level. The basic EAS entry point for emergency agencies, the EAS Encoder
in each Area LP-1, LP-2 station, is only a starting point... an initial way for
applicable civil authorities to have access into the system. Indeed, some Local
Areas and large cities may develop more sophisticated Local EAS Plans, to
become a part of this State Plan. For instance, local civil authorities
purchase their own EAS Encoder to alert local broadcasters and cable operators.
This is a goal for all 77 of our Oklahoma Counties. When we reach this point,
perhaps the LP-1 stations can then be relegated to a purely back-up role. To
this end, local stations are encouraged to foster a relationship with their
local civil authorities. This will complete the final, and perhaps most
important, spoke in the EAS wheel, since most EAS alerts are generated at the
local level.
When
this final link is completed, a County/Local Area EAS Plan should be written to
detail the procedures to be followed. It can be modeled after this State Plan,
and include references to it. Scripts to use at the County/Local Area level can
be found in the "EAS Scripts and Formats" section of this Plan. Your
County/Local Area Plan should then be submitted to your LAECC Chair for
inclusion in the State EAS Plan.
All
broadcasters and certain cable operators are required to participate in
the National-level EAS. "PN" (Participating National) stations and
all cable operators would carry the Presidential message, "NN"
(Non-Participating National) stations would make an announcement and sign off.
Broadcast
stations are permitted to air the audio of a Presidential EAS message from a
higher quality, non-EAS source.
In
addition, all broadcasters and some cable operators must transmit a Required
Weekly EAS Test (RWT), and once a month, must re-transmit the Required Monthly
Test (RMT) within 60 minutes of receiving it on their EAS Decoder. These
actions are required of all broadcasters and cable operators, regardless of
their "PN" or "NN" EAS status.
Participation
in the State and/or Local Area EAS is voluntary for all broadcasters and cable
operators. However, any stations/cable operators electing to participate in the
State and/or Local Area EAS must then follow the procedures found in this Plan.
Note: Even though they elect not to carry National EAS Alerts, stations
designated "NN" (Non-Participating National) may participate in the
State and/or Local Area EAS without any prior FCC approval.
CONDITIONS
OF EAS PARTICIPATION
Acceptance
of/or participation in this Plan shall not be deemed as a relinquishment of
program control, and shall not be deemed to prohibit a broadcast licensee from
exercising his independent discretion and responsibility in any given
situation. Broadcast stations and cable systems originating EAS emergency
communications shall be deemed to have conferred rebroadcast authority as
specified in Section §11.54(d). The concept of management of each broadcast
station and cable system to exercise discretion regarding the broadcast of
emergency information and instructions to the general public is provided by the
FCC Rules and Regulations, Part 11.
Stations/cable
operators are reminded that the EAS Priorities as set forth in the FCC Rules
are as follows:
1. National
EAS Messages
2. Local
Area EAS Messages
3. State
EAS Messages
4. Messages from the National Information
Center (NIC). [These are follow-up messages after a National EAS Activation.]
Detailed
procedures, agreed upon by the broadcast and cable industries and the local
area governments, which will permit designated government officials to issue
local emergency messages and instructions, via the EAS in threatened or actual
emergencies, are attached to this plan as individual appendices for each EAS
local Area.
The
listening and viewing habits of the public are inherent factors of
consideration and are conducive to the positive effectiveness of the Oklahoma
EAS. The instinctive reaction of the average person is to turn on his radio or
television set in time of emergency. However, continuing public education is
required to increase public awareness of the Oklahoma EAS as an established
medium for the receipt and distribution of emergency information to the general
public at the local, State, and National levels.
These
are the FCC's EAS Station Designations, reflecting the EAS status of every
broadcaster and cable operator. Consult Appendix F of this Plan to determine
your EAS Designation.
The
Oklahoma EAS networks are activated by a request from authorized officials to
the State's Emergency Operational Center. There is a direct link from the
Governor to the State Emergency Operational Center. It is then relayed to the
State Primary (SP) sources. The SP sources, Oklahoma News Network (ONN) and
KMGL-FM, are in Oklahoma City and are key with respect to distribution of the
EAS at the State level. All Local Primary (LP) sources in each EAS Local Area
and State Relay (SR) sources should monitor at least one of the above SP
sources, either directly or indirectly, according to the Oklahoma EAS State
Relay Network. ONN in Oklahoma City uplinks four satellite channels. Two of
those four carry the Oklahoma State EAS information on Galaxy 4, Transponder 3.
Each LP-1 station will monitor one of these satellite channels, either
directly, or by monitoring an LP-2 station that monitors on ONN satellite
channel. The ONN satellite channels will be the primary feed for the National
and State levels of EAS. See Annex G for further dissemination of State level
emergency information to all other stations and cable systems.
National
Emergency Messages and Tests should be received from WBAP, Arlington, Texas,
for the Oklahoma area. However, due to poor reception, a phone line and automatic
dialer will bring the National messages from WBAP to the State's Emergency
Operational Center. All National messages and tests will be distributed
throughout Oklahoma over the state networks. Plans are to eventually have a
secondary path for the National message via satellite and then into the State
networks.
GENERAL
PROCEDURES FOR USE OF BROADCAST STATION AND CABLE SYSTEMS
A. When
a severe weather WATCH or WARNING is issued by the National Weather Service
(NWS) for the State of Oklahoma, stations and cable systems in Oklahoma may
receive hard copy of the WATCH or WARNING over any of the following teletype
networks: Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), or the NOAA
Weather Wire.
B. When
a severe weather WATCH or WARNING is issued by the NWS for the State of
Oklahoma, the NWS or another designated official will notify the SP sources,
KMGL-FM, and Oklahoma News Network, through NOAA Weather Radio or telephone.
C. When
a statewide emergency exists, the Governor or a designated official from the
list provided to broadcasters and cable operators will determine whether or not
to request activation of the Oklahoma EAS through the Oklahoma State Emergency
Operational Center.
D. For
unique emergency situations or severe weather not involving the entire state,
authorities may request EAS activation through the Local Primary (LP) source
serving the affected EAS Local Area.
E. The Oklahoma State Emergency Communications Committee and the Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management will issue a list of authorized officials for requesting activation of the Oklahoma EAS (see Annex A). This information should be kept secure and private.
1. Commercial
telephone exists between the Oklahoma State Emergency Operational Center, the
NWS in Oklahoma, and the broadcast and cable facilities of the state.
State Primary (SP) sources:
Oklahoma News Network: 405-858-1458
KMGL-FM: 405-478-3769
Governor's Office: 405-523-4260
State Emergency Operational
Center: 405-521-2481
2. Remote
pickup units (two way radios) are available between the Oklahoma State
Emergency Operation Center, the Governor s Office, and the SP sources Oklahoma
News Network and KMGL-FM. The frequency used is 153.11 mHz and is licensed by
KDMA.
A. Procedures
for Activating Officials.
1. Request activation of the EAS facilities through the Oklahoma State Emergency Operation Center, or Oklahoma News Network as soon as possible.
2. Work out program details (i.e., live or recorded, immediate or delayed) with broadcast and cable personnel.
3. It is recommended that government officials use the following format when delivering the emergency announcement. The format is deliberately general in nature to allow for the uniqueness of each emergency situation, yet broad enough to insure completeness.
a. "This is (name/title) of (jurisdiction) with a
request to activate the Oklahoma Emergency Alert System.
_____________________________________________________
b. Situation summary (describe the nature of the
emergency).
c. Instructions or message to the public.
d. Actions being taken by state and/or local government(s).
4. Keep
line open if necessary.
5. Issue
Oklahoma EAS Termination.
B. Procedures
for Broadcast stations and Cable systems.
1. Upon
receipt of a request to activate EAS at the state level, the operators at the
EOC, and Oklahoma News Network will begin recording all emergency messages and
proceed as follows:
a. Transmit the following announcement: "WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE OF A STATE EMERGENCY. IMPORTANT
INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW."
b. Transmit the Emergency Alert System header codes and Attention
Signal: (FCC Regulations, Section § 11.51)
c. Transmit the following
announcement: "WE INTERRUPT THIS
PROGRAM TO ACTIVATE THE OKLAHOMA
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM AT THE REQUEST OF (AUTHORITY) AT (TIME)."
d. Make the emergency announcement. Repeat as necessary and include
the source of information and time received.
e. At end of announcement, transmit the Oklahoma EAS End of Message
(EOM) code (see FCC Regulations, Section § 11.31). Otherwise keep program open for
a maximum of 2 minutes at which time the EOM code will transmit automatically
from your encoder/decoder.
Important Note:
Broadcasters and cable operators have the option of transmitting only the EAS
header and EOM codes without the Attention Signal and emergency announcement.
This is acceptable so that EAS coded messages can be quickly relayed through
areas unaffected by the emergency.
2. Each
broadcast station and cable system, upon receipt of a State level emergency
action notification will, at the discretion of management, perform the same
procedures as outlined in B.1. above, including recording all emergency
messages. All LP1, LP2, and State Relay stations and cable systems, by
accepting the designation of LP1, LP2, and State Relay have already agreed to
pass the State level emergency, since they are an integral part of the State
network.
3. To avoid unnecessary escalation of public confusion, all broadcast stations and cable systems must be cautious in providing information and news pertaining to the emergency. All messages must be based on definite and confirmed facts. The public must not be left to decide what is or is not factual.
4. Upon
completion of the above transmission procedures, resume normal programming.
Appropriate notations should be made in station and cable records and logs of
all significant events. These records should be carefully preserved in the
event they are required at some later date (FCC Regulations, Section § 11.55).
Stations and cable systems may send a very brief summary to the FCC for
information purposes.
5. If
operations were not concluded as specified in B.1.e. above, upon receipt of the
termination notice from the activating official, make the following
announcement and transmit the Oklahoma EOM code: "THIS CONCLUDES OPERATIONS UNDER THE OKLAHOMA EMERGENCY ALERT
SYSTEM. ALL BROADCAST STATIONS AND CABLE SYSTEMS MAY NOW RESUME NORMAL
OPERATIONS." (Repeat announcement).
A. EAS
Header Code Analysis
An EAS Header Code contains the following
elements, sent in the following sequence:
[Preamble]
ZCZC-ORG-EEE-PSSCCC+TTTT-JJJHHMM-LLLLLLLL-
Attention Signal
Aural, Visual, or Text Message
[Preamble] NNNN
[Preamble] = (Clears the system) - Sent automatically by your
Encoder.
ZCZC
= (Start of ASCII Code) - Sent automatically by your Encoder.
ORG
= (Originator Code) - Preset once by user, then sent
automatically by your Encoder. See following Section B for code you must use.
EEE
= (Event Code) - Determined by user, each time an alert is
sent. See following Section C for the only codes to be used in Oklahoma.
PSSCCC
= (County-Location Code) - Determined by user, each time an alert
is sent. See following Section D for the assigned codes of all Oklahoma
counties.
TTTT
= (Duration of Alert) - Determined by user, each time an
alert is sent.
JJJHHMM
= (Date/Time-of-Day) - Sent automatically by your Encoder.
LLLLLLLL
= (8-Character ID, Identifying the Broadcaster, Cable TV, Weather Service
Office, or Civil Authority operating that Encoder.) Preset once
by user, then sent automatically by your Encoder. See following Section E. for
format to be followed by all users in constructing their L-Code.
Attention
Signal - Must be sent if aural, visual, or text message is sent.
[Preamble] = (Re-clears the system) - Sent automatically by your
Encoder when you initiate the End-of-Message sequence.
NNNN
= (End-of-Message Code) - Must be initiated manually at the end
of every EAS Alert originated by all sources. A failure of the system will
occur if this code is not sent to reset the Decoders of all stations/operators
that carried that alert.
B. Oklahoma
Originator Codes
Following are the only Originator
Codes to be used by sources in Oklahoma:
WXR
- To be used by National Weather Service Offices.
CIV
- To be used by Civil Authorities, and Emergency Government.
EAS
- To be used by all Broadcasters and Cable TV Operators.
C. Oklahoma
Event Codes
Whether used under the authority of
the State EAS Plan, or any of the County/Local Area EAS Plans, the following
are the only Event Codes to be used in the State of Oklahoma by anyone for any
purpose. No codes can be added without FCC approval. County/Local Area EAS
Plans which desire to use a code not on this list, should submit that code
request to the SECC for FCC approval and for subsequent addition to this list.
This list will be maintained as a Master List for all Event Codes used in the
State of Oklahoma.
MANDATED FCC EVENT
CODES
National
Information Center.............. NIC National Periodic Test..................... NPT
Required
Monthly Test....................... RMT Required Weekly Test..................... RWT
Tornado
Watch.................................... TOA Tornado Warning.............................. TOR
Severe
Thunderstorm Watch.............. SVA Severe Thunderstorm Warning....... SVR
Severe
Weather Statement................. SVS Special Weather Statement............. SPS
Flash
Flood Watch.............................. FFA Flash Flood Warning........................ FFW
Flash
Flood Statement........................ FFS Flood Watch..................................... FLA
Flood
Warning..................................... FLW Flood Statement............................... FLS
Winter
Storm Watch........................... WSA Winter Storm Warning.................... WSW
Blizzard
Warning................................. BZW High Wind Watch............................. HWA
High
Wind Warning............................ HWW Evacuation Immediate...................... EVI
Civil
Emergency Message.................. CEM Practice/Demo Warning.................. DMO
Administrative
Message..................... ADR
OKLAHOMA-ADOPTED SBE
EVENT CODES (pending FCC approval)
Self
Test............................................... TST Civil Emergency Warning............... CEW
Civil
Emergency Statement................ CES Civil Emergency Text Message...... CEX
Traffic
Emergency.............................. TRE Traffic Announcement..................... TRA
Traffic
Authority Test......................... TRT Traffic Text Message....................... TRX
Earth
Quake Statement....................... EQS Earth Quake Text Message.............. EQX
Environmental
Warning...................... ENW Environmental Statement................ ENS
Environmental
Text Message............. ENX Evacuation Warning......................... EVW
Evacuation
Statement.......................... EVS Evacuation Text Message................ EVX
Fire
Warning........................................ FRW Fire Statement.................................. FRS
Fire
Test............................................... FRT Fire Text Message............................ FRX
State
Emergency................................. STE State EAS Advisory.......................... STA
State
Test............................................. STT State Text Message.......................... STX
Local
Area Priority Activation.......... LAA Local Area EAS Statement.............. LAS
Local
Area Test................................... LAT Local Area Text Message................ LAX
Police
Priority Activation.................. PLA Police EAS Statement..................... PLS
Police
Test........................................... PLT Police Text Message....................... PLX
Sheriff
Priority Activation................. SHA Sheriff EAS Statement..................... SHS
Sheriff
Test.......................................... SHT Sheriff Text Message....................... SHX
Military
Priority Activation............... MLA Military EAS Statement................... MLS
Military
Test........................................ MLT Military Text Message..................... MLX
Nuclear
Plant Emergency................... NPE Nuclear Plant Statement.................. NUS
Nuclear
Plant Test............................... NUT Nuclear Plant Text Message........... NUX
Industrial
Plant Emergency................ IPE Industrial Plant Statement............... IPS
Industrial
Plant Test............................ IPT Industrial Plant Test Message......... IPX
SPECIAL OKLAHOMA EVENT
CODES (Non-FCC, Non-SBE)
There
are no FCC-Approved Special Oklahoma Event Codes at this time.
D. Oklahoma
County-Location Codes ("PSSCCC")
The first digit ("P") can be used to indicate one-ninth of the county code it precedes, in the following pattern:
0
= Entire County
|
1
= NW |
2
= NC |
3
= NE |
|
4
= WC |
5
= C |
6
= EC |
|
7
= SW |
8
= SC |
9
= SE |
The remaining 5 digits
("SSCCC") indicate the county, as listed below:
Adair........................... 40001
Alfalfa......................... 40003
Atoka.......................... 40005
Beaver........................ 40007
Beckham..................... 40009
Blaine.......................... 40011
Bryan.......................... 40013
Caddo......................... 40015
Canadian..................... 40017
Carter......................... 40019
Cherokee.................... 40021
Choctaw..................... 40023
Cimmaron................... 40025
Cleveland.................... 40027
Coal............................ 40029
Commanche................ 40031
Cotton......................... 40033
Craig........................... 40035
Creek.......................... 40037
Custer......................... 40039
Delaware..................... 40041
Dewey........................ 40043
Ellis............................. 40045
Garfield....................... 40047