An emergency population warning is a method whereby local, regional, or national authorities can contact members of the public en masse to warn them of an impending emergency. These warnings may be necessary for a number of reasons, including:
- weather emergencies such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and ice storms;
- geological disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis;
- industrial disasters such as the release of toxic gas or contamination of river water;
- radiological disasters such as a nuclear plant disaster;
- medical emergencies such as an outbreak of a fast-moving infectious disease; and
- warfare or acts of terrorism.
Many local areas use emergency population warnings to advise of prison escapes, abducted children, Emergency telephone number outages, and other events.
Read more about Emergency Population Warning: Requirements, United Nations Program
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