With hurricane season upon us, FEMA is releasing new ads to educate the public about Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), also known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). Throughout Hurricane Preparedness Week, which began last Sunday and continues through Saturday, June 1, the television and radio spots will identify how the alerts broadcast warning messages to all WEA-capable devices within a specific geographic area.

When a series of more than 200 tornadoes struck seven states in late April, an estimated 366 people died and thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged. The twisters swept rapidly across the southern and eastern United States, and residents had very little time to escape the destructive storms.