A new warning system for floods starts from today, September 30.
The Australian Warning System (AWS) is a national three-tiered warning system.
There are three levels in the AWS – Advice, Watch and Act and Emergency Warning.
At each level of warning, there are clear action statements to help the community.
For example: “stay informed”, “prepare to evacuate” and “move to higher ground”.
The AWS is designed to be consistent across Australia with clear warnings to help people take action ahead of severe weather events.
The warning system includes warning levels, action statements, hazard icons, colours and shapes.
This is what the new warning signs will look like.
This is what they mean.
Advice: an incident has started. Stay up to date in case the situation changes. (yellow)
Watch and Act: conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family. (orange)
Emergency Warning: the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. (red)
The AWS has three core elements:
Location + Hazard: The location and the type of hazard impacting the community (eg Woodburn flooding).
Action statement: For each warning level there are a range of action statements such as “prepare to evacuate, “evacuate now” to guide the community.
The Bureau of Meteorology will continue to issue flood warnings using the descriptions minor, moderate and major flooding terminology.
The NSW SES will then analyse the expected consequences of these flood warnings to communities in the warning area and determine the type of warning to issue (Advice, Watch & Act or Emergency Warning).
Warnings will be given through the NSW SES website, NSW SES social media channels and local ABC radio.
Minor, moderate and major terminology will not be part of the headline warnings to the community.
Watch the video explaining the new warning system here.
and then