4359242 Release document Johnson OIA 2020 21 0419.PDF.pdf

1982

Act
Emergency Mobile Alert

Protocol for User Agencies
  Information
December 2020

Official

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under
Released
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Table of Contents
1
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1
Background ................................................................................................................... 3
1.2
Purpose of this Protocol ................................................................................................ 3
2
User Agencies ...................................................................................................................... 3
2.1
Authority and Responsibility .......................................................................................... 3
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2.2
Registration as an Alerting Authority ............................................................................. 4
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2.3
Use of Emergency Mobile Alert ........................................................................................... 4
3
Application of Emergency Mobile Alert .............................................................................. 5
3.1
High-priority alerts ......................................................................................................... 5
3.1.1  Explanations: ‘Certainty’, ‘Severity’, ‘Urgency’ ................................................... 5
3.2
Exceptions .................................................................................................................... 6
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3.3
Lead agency and cross-jurisdictional considerations ..................................................... 7
3.4
Supplementing Emergency Mobile Alerts via other channels ........................................ 7
4
Alert Dissemination ............................................................................................................. 8
4.1
Authorised ..................................................................................................................... 8
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4.2
Targeted ....................................................................................................................... 8
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4.3
Timed ............................................................................................................................ 9
4.4
Closed ........................................................................................................................... 9
5
Content of Emergency Mobile Alerts .................................................................................. 9
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5.1
Required content ........................................................................................................... 9
5.2
Prohibited content ......................................................................................................... 9
6
Information & Promotion ................................................................................................... 10
7
Testing ................................................................................................................................ 11
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8
Governance ........................................................................................................................ 11
9
Maintenance ....................................................................................................................... 11
10  Change ................................................................................................................................ 12
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1982
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•  ensure that the content of each Emergency Mobile Alert message complies with the
content requirements in paragraph 5; and
•  not use Emergency Mobile Alert in any way which is unlawful or fraudulent, abusive (e.g.
spamming any person or group of persons), or contrary to any written directions or
instructions from NEMA.
3
APPLICATION OF EMERGENCY MOBILE ALERT
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3.1  High-Priority Alerts
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The Emergency Mobile Alert service is to be used to issue High-Priority Alerts only. In accordance
with the New Zealand Common Alerting Protocol (CAP-NZ), High-Priority Alerts are at level (a) or
(b) within each of the following three criteria:
1.
Certainty
a.  Observed:  Determined to have occurred or to be ongoing
b.  Likely: Probability of its occurrence greater than 50%
2.
Severity
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a.  Extreme: Extraordinary threat to life, health or property
b.  Severe: Significant threat to life, health or property
3.
Urgency
a.  Immediate: Responsive action should be taken immediately
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b.  Expected: Responsive action should be taken soon
3.1.1  Explanations: ‘Certainty’, ‘Severity’, ‘Urgency’
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Certainty:
‘Likely’ should consider that a qualitative estimate of probability may vary by up to
30%, and erring on the side of caution may be preferable in some circumstances.
The desire to wait for certainty is a trade-off against allowing sufficient time for action.
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Severity:
‘Extreme’ applies to an emergency affecting a town, city or a region:
•  Life: widespread deaths are possible; or
•  Health: widespread permanently incapacitating injuries or illness are
possible; or
•  Property: widespread destruction (or rendering uninhabitable) of buildings
is possible
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in an urban area:
•  Life: limited deaths (i.e. individuals or small groups) are possible; or
•  Health: limited permanently incapacitating injuries or illness are possible; or
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•  Property: limited (i.e. few or very localised) destruction (or rendering
uninhabitable) of buildings is possible
‘Urgency’:   ‘Expected’: soon must include time for action - the minimum amount of time people
could reasonably be expected to carry out the instructions in the alert. For example:
•  5 minutes: ‘Do not take personal belongings other than critical medication
and personal documents’
•  30 minutes: ‘Bring in outdoor objects such as lawn furniture, toys and
garden tools, and anchor objects that cannot be brought inside’
3.1.2  Further considerations
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These factors are also to be considered before deciding to issue an Emergency Mobile Alert:
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•  Expectation:  Would  the  public  expect  to  receive  an  Emergency  Mobile  Alert  for  this
emergency?
•  Alert fatigue: Would the public feel the alert was irrelevant, unnecessary, untimely, or feel
they are being over-alerted?
•  Reduce responder effort/risk: Will an Emergency Mobile Alert reduce the response effort
or risk to the emergency responders?
•  Alerting efficiency: Are there a large number of people impacted by the emergency within
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the size of the target area?
•  Economic  threat:  Even  if  the  event  was  not  a  direct  threat  to  life  or  health,  could  the
emergency lead to a major economic threat to New Zealand unless immediate actions are
taken by the public?

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3.2  Exceptions
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There  may  be  justification  to  issue  an  Emergency  Mobile  Alert  that  does  not  qualify  as  a  High-
Priority Alert.
Emergency Mobile Alert may be used  during emergencies to maintain  important  communication
with affected communities, however User Agencies must apply discretion with regards to the over-
under
use of the Emergency Mobile Alert channel vis-à-vis other communication channels.
It is not possible to foresee all other situations that could benefit from the issuing of an Emergency
Mobile  Alert.  For  any  such  proposed  use,  the  NEMA  Duty  Manager  must  be  consulted  in
advance.
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3.3  Lead agency and cross-jurisdictional considerations
The following guidelines apply for alert campaigns1 using Emergency Mobile Alert where multiple
User Agencies are involved:
•  the Lead Agency2 of an emergency will be responsible for initiating an alert campaign for a
specific event;
•  upon the request of Support Agencies, and when other alerting channels are not suitable,
the Lead Agency must as far as possible accommodate critical information provided by  1982
those Support Agencies for inclusion in their alerts;
•  when the Lead Agency changes, the previous Lead Agency and new Lead Agency must
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agree which User Agency will continue the initial alert campaign;
•  when multiple User Agencies have a stake in the same emergency (e.g. CDEM Groups
that span the same emergency), steps must be taken between the User Agencies to
ensure their messaging is consistent; and
•  when a User Agency wishes to issue an alert for a concurrent but different event that
overlaps the broadcast area of an existing alert campaign, the agency that already has an
alert campaign underway must be informed.
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If a User Agency is requested to send an Emergency Mobile Alert message on behalf of another
User Agency, the User Agency that will send the message is still responsible for ensuring, prior to
sending the message, that:
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•  use of Emergency Mobile Alert is for a High-Priority Alert (meeting the certainty, severity
and urgency requirements in paragraph 3.1), or the exceptions in paragraph 3.2; and
the
•  the Emergency Mobile Alert complies with the content requirements in paragraph 5.
3.4  Supplementing Emergency Mobile Alerts via other channels
Emergency  Mobile  Alerts  rely  on  an  enabled  mobile  device  being  connected  to  one  of  New
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Zealand’s three mobile networks. It therefore does not replace existing alerting channels.
People who are not within a mobile network, do not have an enabled device, or whose device is
switched off, must be alerted by other channels. Messages carried by these other channels must
be consistent with those issued via Emergency Mobile Alert, noting that many people will receive
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1 An alert campaign is the sequence of messages issued for a single emergency event.
2  The  CIMS  framework  for  response  defines  Lead  and  Support  Agencies.  Lead  Agencies  and  the  hazards  they  are
responsible for are described in Appendix 1 of the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan Order 2015.
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alerts via more than one channel. This is especially important if the Emergency Mobile Alert directly
refers to other sources of information.
4
ALERT DISSEMINATION
4.1  Authorised
User Agencies carry their own responsibility for the use of Emergency Mobile Alert. Therefore, User
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Agencies must have a clear internal policy and process for alert decision-making and authorisation.
Procedures must be based on, and not be inconsistent with the criteria in paragraphs 3.1, 3.2 and
3.3 above.
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User Agencies must also ensure that only properly authorised personnel use and are able to access
the Emergency Mobile Alert system.
Details  of  each  User  Agency's  authorised  personnel  must  be  provided  to  NEMA  using  an
Emergency Mobile Alert Service Request Form in advance of their personnel accessing or using
the Emergency Mobile Alert system. Those details must include the authorised personnel's:
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•  full name;
•  position within the User Agency;
•  contact phone number(s) (including an after-hours contact number); and
•  email address, and
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•  other details that NEMA may reasonably require about the authorised personnel.
4.2  Targeted
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The following guidelines apply when defining the appropriate target area for an alert:
•  because a precise boundary is not achievable in cell broadcasting, it is preferable to ‘over-
under
alert’ in respect of the target area. People who are in fact safe will also receive the alert.
Therefore the message should clearly describe the area that is affected, in a way that
people in the area will be able to relate with;
•  when the target area becomes larger or smaller in size than what was indicated in an
initial alert, a new alert must be sent. The new alert must note that there is a change to the
hazard area, and state what the new area is, and the original target area must be included
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in the new target area; and
•  when the target area changes completely, an appropriate update must be sent to the
original area to cancel that alert campaign, and a new alert must be sent to the new target
area.
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4.3  Timed
Emergency Mobile Alerts must be appropriately timed in terms of:
•  the time of day or night the broadcast should start, i.e. whether the alert should wake
everyone up in the target area, or whether it can start broadcasting early the next morning;
and
•  how long a broadcast should continue i.e. how long the alert should be ‘live’.
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4.4  Closed
Each Emergency Mobile Alert campaign must be closed off by an appropriate final message that
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either indicates that the threat is over, or advice on where further information can be found.
If messaging has been made by multiple User Agencies about the same event, the agencies must
agree which agency will issue the final messages, at what time, and their content.
5
CONTENT OF EMERGENCY MOBILE ALERTS
Information
Emergency Mobile  Alerts  will  be  issued  in  situations  when  time  is  of the essence.  Pre-prepared
messages maintained within the Emergency Mobile Alert system will speed up this process, and
also permit prior consideration of the following rules.
5.1  Required content
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All Emergency Mobile Alert messages must:
•
the
  identify the relevant User Agency using agreed agency names as the sender of the
message;
•  be written in plain, understandable language;
•  have simple, short and easily-remembered names for sources of further information
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(which must not be a Mobile Operator); and
•  provide recipients with relevant information regarding the event or threat to which the
message relates (including what the emergency is; what to do; and where to go for more
information, as applicable).
5.2  Prohibited content
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Emergency Mobile Alerts must not contain:
•  any content that is of a commercial nature (e.g. advertising or endorsing any products or
businesses);
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•  any content that is of a political nature;
•  any content that is abusive, defamatory or fraudulent;
•  any other content that is unrelated to the relevant event or threat justifying use of
Emergency Mobile Alert as per paragraph 3;
•  any content that could harm, or bring into disrepute, Emergency Mobile Alert (and/or any
of the parties involved in providing the Emergency Mobile Alert system, including
One2Many and any of the Mobile Operators); or
•  anything of a similar nature to any of the above.
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INFORMATION & PROMOTION
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NEMA will maintain a central repository of public information about Emergency Mobile Alert on its
website. This information is regarded as the official information about Emergency Mobile Alert and
any information generated by individual User Agencies must be consistent with that.
All documentation, including the handbook and training materials, are also maintained by NEMA.
Changes  to  any  of  the  official  Emergency  Mobile  Alert  information  can  be  requested  using  the
Information
Service Request Form.
NEMA also leads and funds the official Emergency Mobile Alert public promotion campaign and will
share public education material, which may be subject to an embargo, prior to any such campaign
launch.
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Each User Agency must ensure that:
the
•  all media activity directly related to Emergency Mobile Alert is organised, channelled
through/or approved by NEMA;
•  no surprises - it does not release any information relating to Emergency Mobile Alert
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publicly without prior notice to NEMA;
•  it does not mention another User Agency, or any party involved in providing the
Emergency Mobile Alert system, in external communications relating to Emergency Mobile
Alert without first getting approval from NEMA and all involved parties on what is said;
•  all high-level messaging is agreed with NEMA prior to the start of any public education or
promotional activities; and
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•  it does not endorse any commercial handset supplier, or comment on any Mobile
Operator's or One2Many’s performance, products, goods or services.
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7
TESTING
NEMA will conduct nation-wide testing of Emergency Mobile Alert at least annually.
The following principles apply to tests:
•  NEMA will inform service providers of planned tests one month in advance;
•  tests must be well publicised to the public two weeks in advance;
•  tests must be conducted between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 (New Zealand time); and
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•  the following text must be used for test messages:
This is a test message for the Emergency Mobile Alert system. No action is required. Act
Sent by [User Agency name]
Visit civildefence.govt.nz for more information about Emergency Mobile Alert.
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GOVERNANCE
Strategic oversight, direction and policy with regards to Emergency Mobile Alert is provided by a
Governance Committee, chaired by NEMA. The role of the Governance Committee includes:
•
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  oversight and enforcement of appropriate use of the Emergency Mobile Alert system;
•  approval of change and improvements to the Emergency Mobile Alert system and its use;
•  monitoring the performance of service providers, noting the “at cost” service provision by
the Mobile Operators; and
•  financial oversight.
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The Governance Committee may establish working groups or task teams as required.
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Governance arrangements are detailed in the Public Alerting Governance Committee document.
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MAINTENANCE
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NEMA  is  the  operational  custodian  agency  of  Emergency  Mobile  Alert.  As  custodian,  NEMA  is
responsible for:
•  monitoring the use of Emergency Mobile Alert;
•  monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of Emergency Mobile Alert;
•  coordination or management of ongoing improvements to Emergency Mobile Alert;
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•  first level support and training;
•  coordination of operational meetings with User Agencies and service providers; and
•  reporting to the Governance Committee.
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10  CHANGE
Change  requests  for the  Emergency Mobile  Alert  system  must  be  submitted  to  the Governance
Committee via NEMA.
A Technical Change Advisory Board will review any change requests that have been submitted to
the Governance Committee from an information and communications technology perspective, and
will  provide  a  recommendation  to  the  Committee.  The  Board  will  provide  a  forum for  discussing
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change requests to Emergency Mobile Alert and ensure all parties to the solution have an equal
input to the recommended outcome.
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The Technical Change Advisory Board will also apply swift consideration to urgent change requests
that  are  deemed  to  have  a  substantial  or  critical  impact  on  Emergency  Mobile  Alert,  and  seek
approval for change from the Governance Committee without delay.
Change arrangements are detailed in the Public Alerting Governance Committee document.
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