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As of 15 July 2024, Western Australia has adopted the Australian Warning System (AWS) for bushfire, cyclone, flood and storm warnings.
The AWS is a national approach to emergency information that aims to deliver consistent warnings to Australian communities, so people know what they need to do to stay safe in an emergency, no matter where they are.
Consistent warning levels, colours and hazard icons supported by a clear and concise action statement will make warnings easier to understand.
If you're familiar with bushfire warnings, you'll already be familiar with the three AWS warning levels of Advice, Watch and Act and Emergency Warning and their corresponding colours of yellow, orange and red.
These warning levels, their corresponding colours and new icons will now be used for cyclone, flood and storm warnings issued on the Emergency WA website.
The warning level is determined by the level of threat posed to the community.
For cyclone, this means we will no longer be using the Blue Alert, Yellow Alert, Red Alert and All Clear warning system.
Warning headlines now also feature an action statement.
An incident is active but there is no immediate threat to lives or homes. Be aware and keep
up to date.
There is a possible threat to lives or homes. Take action now to protect yourself and others.
There is a threat to lives and homes. You may be in danger and need to take immediate action.
The AWS is a simple warning system for natural disasters.
One of the biggest changes under AWS is to the warnings DFES issue for cyclones.
We will no longer be using the old Blue Alert, Yellow Alert, Red Alert and All Clear warning system.
Instead warnings will either be Advice, Watch and Act or Emergency Warning depending on the risk to the community and the forecast time to impact.
The main benefit of using the AWS framework for cyclone warnings is that we can now de-escalate, or downgrade warning levels after the cyclone has passed.
Previously under the old system, warnings would jump straight from a Red Alert to an All Clear once the cyclone had passed. Now we will downgrade from an Emergency Warning to either a Watch and Act or an Advice depending on the cyclone's impact and what risks remain for the community. For more information visit the Cyclone information page here.
WA introduced the first phase of AWS changes to bushfire in September 2021 when warning colours and icons were updated to reflect the AWS framework.
As of 15 July 2024, bushfire warnings will now also include an action statement giving the community a clear understanding of what to do to stay safe.
The All Clear level will no longer be used, instead an Advice - Threat is reduced will be issued. For more information visit the Bushfire information page here.
Under AWS, flood warnings will better reflect the risks to the community before, during and after impact.
When a flood is forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology, DFES will issue warnings based on the time to impact and the potential risk to the communities in that flood catchment.
When a flood is occurring, communities will get clear information in their warnings about whether they will be isolated, or if they need to leave the impacted area.
Unless the flood is posing an imminent threat to lives and homes, most flood warnings will be either an Advice or Watch and Act.
When floodwaters recede, DFES will downgrade the warning to reflect the risks that still exist. That may mean we stay on a Watch and Act but move through action statements from 'Prepare for isolation' to 'Do not enter floodwater'. For more information visit the Flood information page here.
DFES works closely with the Bureau of Meteorology when issuing storm warnings for the community.
When the Bureau issues Severe Weather or Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, DFES will issue a warning on Emergency WA.
Most storms that occur during WA's winter storm season and during the wet season will either have Storm Advice or Watch and Act warnings.
Only storms with life-threatening weather impacts would escalate to a Storm Emergency Warning.
After a storm has passed, DFES will downgrade warnings based on the risk that remains in the community. This would include an assessment of the impact of the storm and what hazards now exist such as downed trees and powerlines, flooded roads and other dangerous debris. For more information visit the Storm information page here.
Emergency WA is Western Australia's official source of emergency information for bushfires and other hazards. During an incident, visiting Emergency WA is the quickest and easiest way to find out what's going on and what you need to do.
Emergency services will provide you as much information as possible through a range of methods. Your surroundings could be your best information source. Stay alert to what is happening around you. If you believe you may be in danger, act immediately to stay safe.
DFES Emergency Information line 13 DFES (13 3337)
