How does EMnet improve upon the National Warning System (NAWAS)?
NAWAS is a telephone-based system that is limited to verbal conference telephone calls. The call sequence includes a connection request from one person to another, circuits being joined, a ring down to all the parties, a roll call, a verbal communication, and questions to clarify the verbal statement. The process is lengthy and because of this, dangerous, such as in the case of a tsunami warning which does rely on NAWAS. Comparatively, EMnet delivers both human and machine-readable text communication, along with pictures, reports, etc., in seconds, while providing the sender with a record of recipient receipts along with notification of when these select parties acknowledge each message. Sirens, other warning systems, and other responses can be programmed to activate automatically from the EMnet message.
