Preparing Texas Today State Operations Center

Preparing Texas Today. . . State Operations Center (SOC) Communications & Warning Systems . . . for Tomorrow’s Challenges Governor’s Division of Emergency Management Texas Department of Public Safety

OVER VIEW • THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE STATE WARNING SYSTEM IS TO DISSEMINATE TIMELY AND ACCURATE WARNING INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND STATE AGENCIES DURING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. • WARNING INFORMATION IS RECEIVED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES. SOME ARE: FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS / MEDIA / PRIVATE OR PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS / VOLUNTEERS, ETC. • THE STATE WARNING SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR RAPID DISSEMINATION OF WARNING INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND STATE AGENCIES.

WARNING SYSTEMS PARTIAL LIST • • • NAWAS: National Warning System - 24 hr / nationwide warning system provided by FEMA & NORAD TEWAS: Texas Warning System - State level extension of NAWAS. Comprised of : each Area Warning Center / National Weather Service forecast offices / and D. O. E. ’s Amarillo Area Office. TEWAS is “voice only” TLETS: Texas Law Enforcement Teletype System - Statewide teletype network. Connects the State Warning Point with city, county, state, federal, military law enforcement, and Texas criminal justice agencies. TLETS is a “text hard copy” system. FNARS: FEMA National Radio System - Federal back-up system for NAWAS. Messages are received at SOC, which relays the appropriate information via TEWAS, TLETS, EAS and / or law enforcement radio communications. RACES: Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service -Volunteer amateur (HAM) radio operators. These operators use amateur HF radios for back-up communications from DPS headquarters in Austin to DPS Disaster Districts.

TLETS MESSAGES NOTE: This message was received late because a priority code was not included in the header info. Due to possible human error, TLETS should not be your only weather warning source. NOTE: HIGH PRIORITY in the header information field. When the message originator enters: ** WARNING ** : and their initials on the next line, the priority info is added, and the message is sent through the queue ahead of normal traffic.

EAS • º º EAS consists of commercial broadcast, NOAA National Weather Service Weather Radio Network and cable media used to issue emergency information and warning notification to the general public. National Coverage: National emergency messages, pursuant to plans established by FEMA, will come from the White House to Texas’ two Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations, KTRH Houston and WBAP Fort-Worth/Dallas. State Coverage: GDEM /SOC will disseminate any state emergency messages in a phone / fax message to the NWS and in phone calls to KTRH and WBAP. Local Coverage: Local emergency messages will be sent out according to local EAS plans. Each local area should have a local emergency communications committee to include broadcasters, cable operators, and local government officials. NOTE: Local EAS activation will be the responsibility of the affected political jurisdiction, either city or county. However, if the threatened area includes several political subdivisions, or if insufficient time is available for local involvement, the DPS Warning Area Center may activate the EAS system simultaneously with, or immediately after, notification of the local Warning Points.

Texas State EAS Warning Plan 1 2 WBAP 2221 E. Lamar Arlington 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 8 # 1 2 3 4 TEXAN Network 9 8 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 8 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 Legend 7 8 9 * Analog Voice Grade Line 8 # 56 kbps PVC CBR KVLF 500 Hendrys Avenue Alpine KFRQ 801 N. Jackson Road Mc. Allen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 8 # Bridge 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 8 # 6 8 * DEM/DPS/EOC 5805 N. Lamar Austin 5 7 KTRH 510 Lovett Boulevard Houston KTDR 307 E. 8 th Street Del Rio KLAQ 4150 Pinnacle El Paso DS 0 CES Port Represents Analog Termination Equipment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 8 # KRRG 902 E. Calton Road Laredo WOAI 6222 N. W. IH-10 San Antonio

NWS COVERAGE AREA

NWS BROADCASTS ALERT ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO

Blackberries / PDAs

SOC COMMUNICATIONS • • • • NWS / INTERNET WEATHER LINKS / DTN TLETS (Texas Law Enforcement Teletype System) COMMUNICATIONS OPERATIONS / OPERATORS / RLO’S AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS / RACES (DURING ACTIVATION) MARS / ARES / SAROS SATELLITE TV / Telephone / Weather Systems MEDIA (Cable TV) A/V CABINET (Monitors / Records / Routes Audio Visual information) FNARS / HF RADIO TELEPHONE LINK (DURING ACTIVATION) COMPUTERS / INTERNET / EMAIL TELEPHONES / PAGERS / FAX MACHINES VIDEO TELECONFERENCE SYSTEMS (VTC) PUBLIC: PHONED IN REPORTS

Texas Infrastructure Protection Communications Center (TIPCC) The Virtual Network Canyon Amarillo Childress El Paso Lubbock Fort Stockton Midland Vernon Abilene Wichita Falls Paris Denton Commerce. Mount Pleasant Tyler Kilgore Garland San Angelo Stephenville Hurst Richardson Fort Worth Brownwood Overton Waco Lufkin Temple Huntsville Austin Bryan Del Rio Conroe San Antonio Uvalde Prarie View The Woodlands Yoakum Houston Beaumont Rosenberg Pierce Galveston Victoria Laredo Corpus Christi Kingsville Edinburg Mc. All Pharr DPS Offices NWS Office FEMA Region 6 Office Brownsville Other Locations

Sherman Hansford. Ochiltree Lipscomb Dallam Hartley Moore Oldham Potter Deaf Smith Texas Web. EOC Fusion Possible Infrastructure Roberts Hemphill Hutchinson Gray Carson Wheeler Randall. Armstrong Donley Collingsworth Parmer Castro Swisher Briscoe Childress Hall Hardeman Bailey Lamb Hale Cochran Hockley Lubbock Floyd Motley Cottle Crosby Dickens King Foard Wilbarger Baylor Knox Wichita Clay Archer Montague Cooke Grayson Fannin Lamar Gaines Andrews Loving Winkler El Paso Hudspeth Ward Culberson Lynn Dawson Borden Scurry Martin Howard Crane Upton Pecos Jeff Davis Terrell Brewster Mitchell Fisher Wise Nolan Taylor Callahan. Eastland Denton Parker Tarrant Palo Shackelford Jones Stephens Pinto Hood Glasscock Coke Ector Midland Sterling Reeves Presidio Garza Jack Collin Hunt Hopkins Rockwall Rains Dallas Kaufman Van Zandt Camp Gregg Cass Marion Harrison Smith Erath Somervell Coleman Bowie Wood Upshur Johnson Ellis Henderson Navarro Hill Titus Morris Yoakum Terry Young Kent Stonewall Haskell Throckmorton Red River Franklin Delta Rusk Panola Comanche Bosque Cherokee Anderson Brown Shelby Freestone Hamilton Nacogdoches Mc. Lennan Limestone San Mills Augustine Reagan Tom Coryell Houston Concho Leon Sabine Irion Green Falls Angelina Mc. Culloch San Lampasas Trinity Saba Bell Jasper Robertson Madison Newton Schleicher Menard Burnet Polk Milam Tyler Walker Mason Llano Crockett Williamson Brazos San Grimes Jacinto Sutton Burleson Kimble Hardin Blanco Montgomery Travis Lee Gillespie Washington Orange Liberty Bastrop Hays Kerr Waller Edwards Val Kendall Austin Jefferson Harris Fayette Real Verde Caldwell Comal Chambers Bandera Colorado Guadalupe Fort Bend Gonzales Bexar Galveston Lavaca Kinney Uvalde Medina Wharton Wilson Brazoria Runnels De. Witt Maverick Zavala Atascosa Frio Jackson Matagorda Karnes Goliad Fusion Server Dimmit La Salle Webb Mc. Mullen Live Oak Bee Calhoun Refugio San Patricio Jim Nueces Duval Wells Kleberg Web. EOC Users across the state Zapata Jim Hogg Brooks Starr Victoria Kenedy Willacy Hidalgo Cameron Aransas

SOC / GDEM Communication & Warning Systems • Presenter: • DEM Response Section • Technical Operations Officer • Phone: (512) 424 -2208 • E-Mail: • soc@txdps. state. tx. us • Website: http: //www. txdps. state. TX. us ANY QUESTIONS

CONCLUSION