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Early Warning Systems
Early Warning Systems (sometimes referred to simply as EWS) are systems that are in place within a geographical region which allow for an early indication of an impending/the potential development of a problem. These systems are great tools for risk reduction. Their objective is to provide information about potentially hazardous situations that have the ability to become disastrous. EWS does not always provide information to prevent disasters, but instead that allows for affected individuals/countries to prepare for the situation. Thus, early warning systems effectiveness are measured in their capacity to generate and disseminate information that is meaningful in a timely manner, in order for at-risk individuals, communities, and organizations to either prepare or respond appropriately and accordingly.

The Importance of Early Warning Systems
Early Warning systems are important because they reduce the risk for property damages, public destruction (both material and economical) and loss of life. Early warning systems are used in many capacities, but are most commonly associated with detection of natural disasters. They are important because the time that they afford people in regions about to be devastated by these disasters is invaluable. EWS allows individuals exposed to a hazard to prepare effectively, to avoid a situation or to – at minimum – reduce their risk in a given emergency. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami in December of 2004, there has been greater focus on the development and betterment of technologies within the area of early detection and prevention. The natural disaster lead, most notably, to the United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan calling for the implementation of early warning systems to be placed in all countries, with no exceptions, for all hazards in January of 2005. This was furthered the following year by his request for all warning systems to be surveyed, in order to identify weaknesses in the communication and allow for further development. (The incident also resulted in an international agreement in January of 2005 at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan; the agreement on risk reduction was titled the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015: building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. This resulted in rapid development of an early warning system specific to the Indian Ocean.) Economically speaking, unpreparedness for natural disasters is costly. Between 1994 and 2004, the recorded statistics indicate that there were approximately 6000 disasters recorded, resulting in 900 000 dead, US$738 billion material losses and 2500 million people affected. Moreover, these disasters are mainly affecting already impoverished developing countries. This is relevant because the extent of the damage caused by a hazard is related not just to its severity, but also to the capacity of people living in disaster-prone areas to prepare for and resist it. Those living in developing countries are woefully underprepared, and technologies warning of impending disasters are crucial to preventing loss of life.

How They Work
Early warning systems are combination of tools and process that are run on a national and/or international level. Some systems focus on one type of disaster, while others focus on detecting multiple types of hazardous situations simultaneously. Regardless of the systems’ focus, they have four main components: knowledge of the risk, a technical monitoring and warning service, dissemination of meaningful warnings to at-risk people, and public awareness and preparedness to act. Most often, these components are viewed as a ‘warning chain’, from observation through to preventative action. This is often referred to as an “end-to-end” warning system. The view of the warning system as a chain emphasizes the importance that each step be followed, or else the system breaks down.

Knowledge of Risk
The knowledge of the potential risk, and the hazards to the individuals affected by it, as well as the vulnerabilities of the society.

Technical Monitoring and Warning Service
The actual technical capacity to monitor hazards/disasters and their precursors, to accurately predict the general forecast of the hazard and the ability to issue a warning.

Dissemination
Disseminating warnings that are understood amongst the at-risk community, as well as relaying proper preparedness messages.

Preparedness to Act
The knowledge and plans, as well as the capacity, for the affected to react to the warnings. This includes the ability of authorities to take action in preventing unnecessary or avoidable loss.

Pros
Early Warning Systems are beneficial for many reasons; these reasons include frequency, severity, lead-time, accuracy and loss reduction. Early warning costs allow for professionals to determine the frequency of natural disasters, allowing for time of year and external events to be aligned, creating potential patterns and additional warning signs. Tracking the severity also allows for appropriate preparedness guidelines to be followed, depending on the type of disaster. Lead-time refers to the amount of time individuals and communities have to prepare for/avoid the disaster – this refers to the amount of time between when the warning is issued and the disaster is scheduled to occur. Early warning systems also allow for professionals to compare previous warnings with current environmental standings. This allows them to maintain better accuracy in their warnings, resulting in warnings being taken more seriously in future times of risk. Loss reduction refers to lessening the damage of a natural disaster. Loss reduction refers to both economic, material and life devastation. Additionally, having EWS in place also results in having teams of professionals at the ready for when disaster does strike, allowing for the investigation occurring rapidly, and for aide to be brought as quickly as possible.

Cons
EWS are only as effective as the public allows them to be. In order for warning systems to work, the public must act accordingly in helping to reduce the damages and death tolls. Improving and bettering technology is only going to result in reduced costs both in lives and economics if individuals within these target areas have the infrastructure required to support the systems. Without human action and proper communication and without set guidelines and preparedness plans being followed, there will be no reduction in costs. For example, the earthquake that caused the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 was picked up by The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, which called the governments in Indonesia and Thailand. The emergency infrastructure required to proactively respond to the situation was missing, and the tsunami devastated the countries. Despite the capabilities of technologies, there can still be a break down in the dissemination of information, nullifying the purpose of the technology in the first place. Furthermore, not all societies are the same. There is a gap between the developed and the developing world. Warning systems that are in place internationally do not necessarily effectively communicate to developing countries, where there is a gap in communication abilities. This is compounded by the fact that different countries and regions have different financial resources and varying definitions of what is a ‘risk’. Additionally, early warning systems are costly. Along with the actual technologies comes the necessity that there be training and information disseminated regarding the guidelines and appropriate actions to be followed and taken in the event of an actual emergency. (For example, explaining emergency evacuations and conducting evacuation drills in school). Additionally, having fully established early warning systems requires a consistent cooperation and collaboration between Emergency Services Agencies, which is currently a persistent problem as said agencies are too lax in maintaining common measures of evaluation and comparison of data from differing systems in varying regions.