Get Alerts
Understanding how you will be alerted to urgent emergency situations and where to go for other official, vetted information is a critical part of being prepared. These systems alert the public of immediate threats to public safety and deliver urgent life-saving information.
Signing up for HNL Alert ensures you get more information, more quickly, during an emergency. HNL Alert is the City and County of Honolulu’s notification system for O’ahu’s residents and and visitors. Choose the types events you want to be alerted about and how you want to be notified. Enter one or more addresses to get targeted alerts about events impacting specific areas you care about such as your home and workplace.
HNL Alert is used in addition to warning systems that don’t require sign up, such as wireless alerts that sound on your mobile device, sirens, and alerts that interrupt radio and TV. While some warning systems are intended for urgent emergency situations, HNL Alerts can keep you informed about developing weather conditions and other situations affecting City services you rely on. HNL Alert messages can contain more details, include images and links to real-time information, and don’t disappear quickly from your device. You have more time to read and understand the information or share it with others.
There are two ways to sign up for HNL Alerts:
- CUSTOMIZE YOUR ALERTS: Create an account at hnlalert.gov. Pick any combination of text messages, email alerts, or push notifications from the Public Safety by Everbridge app. Make changes to your preferred alert topics any time!
- URGENT ALERTS ONLY: Text “HNLALERT” to 888777 to quick subscribe and get the most important safety alerts by text. No registration needed!
Emergency Alert System (EAS)
What is the EAS and when is it activated?
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that state and local governments can use to interrupt regular programming and deliver urgent emergency information via TV, radio, cable and satellite services. The EAS can also be activated nationwide by the federal government for the President to address the public during a national emergency. EAS participants – radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers – deliver state and local alerts on a voluntary basis, but they are required to deliver Presidential alerts. The majority of EAS alerts originate from the National Weather Service in re
sponse to severe weather events, but the counties or the state can also use the system to communicate urgent emergency instructions such as evacuation or shelter-in-place orders, or to issue AMBER alerts. FEMA and the FCC work collaboratively to maintain the Emergency Alert System and they establish standards and procedures for system use.
When is the EAS tested?
The EAS, along with the sirens, is tested by emergency management officials on the first business day of each month at 11:45 AM in collaboration with the Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) and local radio/TV/Cable broadcast partners. Broadcasters conduct additional weekly testing. National tests of the system are conducted periodically by FEMA and the FCC.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
What are WEA messages and when are they sent?
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are another component of the national public warning system along with the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Wireless Emergency Alerts are short emergency messages sent by authorized federal, state or local government agencies through mobile carriers. A WEA alert appears on the screen of the recipient’s phone as a text-like message. The alert is accompanied by a unique attention signal and vibration, which is particularly helpful to people with hearing or vision-related disabilities.
These alerts are broadcast to the geographic area affected by an emergency. For example, 
WEA messages may be broadcast to all cell phones statewide, or targeted to only one island or even a specific area of an island. During national emergencies, alerts can be issued nationwide.
WEA messages can only be issued during critical emergency situations. There are four types of alerts:
- National alerts issued by the President of the United States or the Administrator of FEMA
- Amber Alerts about missing children
- Alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life (e.g. urgent weather warnings from the National Weather Services)
- Other Local Alerts conveying recommendations for saving lives and property (e.g. specific areas to evacuate)
Do I need to subscribe to receive WEA message?
No. There is no sign-up required to receive WEA messages and there is no cost involved. You will automatically receive WEA messages as long as you have a WEA-capable mobile phone that is turned on, and in the vicinity of a cell tower of a wireless carrier that participates in WEA.
Outdoor Warning Sirens
When are sirens used to alert the public?
A third prong of the public alert and warning system is the Statewide Outdoor Siren System, which may be activated by counties or the state at the same time they issue EAS and WEA messages deliver urgent emergency information. The primary function of the sirens is to alert the public that there is an urgent hazard that requires immediate attention. When you hear this ‘Steady Tone’, tune into local radio, TV or other official online media right away to get official information and instructions.
Sirens will not sound in every emergency situation. Sirens will sound island-wide during a tsunami warning or prior to a hurricane making landfall. Sirens may be used in localized areas for other emergency situations to alert people to tune in and get emergency information when evacuation orders, shelter-in-place orders, or lifesaving messages are issued. However, sirens will only be activated if there are operational sirens in the affected area and if there is enough time to sound the sirens. The first priority for emergency officials will be activating the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and issuing Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) because those systems reach the most people and allow specific instructions to be communicated.
Where are sirens located and who maintains them?
Outdoor Warning Sirens are installed and maintained by the State’s Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Not all areas of the island are within range of a siren; costal tsunami evacuation zones are prioritized for siren placement.
Who activates the sirens?
Each county is able to operate the sirens within its jurisdiction and has primary responsibility for determining if and when to sound the sirens during an emergency. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) is able to activate the sirens. In most cases, HI-EMA serves as a back-up to the county and will only activate the sirens at the request of the affected county. For Local Tsunami Warnings, however, because there is very limited time available to alert the public, HI-EMA is responsible for immediately activating all sirens statewide.
When are sirens tested?
The sirens, along with the Emergency Alert System (EAS), are tested on the first business day of each month. Sirens are tested at 11:45 am in collaboration with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) and local radio/TV/Cable broadcast partners. You can report whether or not a siren in your area successfully sounded during the monthly test by submitting a Monthly Siren Test Report.
Occasionally, additional siren testing is scheduled to ensure newly installed or repaired sirens are functioning properly. Residents are notified of all siren tests via local television, radio and print media as well as by official social media and HNL Alert.
What do I do if I think a siren is malfunctioning or being vandalized?
If you hear a siren sound and there is no emergency information being broadcasted over TV, radio, HNL.info, or official social media, it’s more than likely a malfunctioning unit.
Sirens are also equipped with a special Tamper Alert sound, which sounds like a Hi/Lo Tone to warn when unauthorized access to the siren is occurring. Click here for a sample of what the Tamper Alert sounds like.
To report siren problems, malfunctions, or vandalism, call 911.
If you have questions or concerns about the status of an existing siren, please contact HI-EMA at (808) 733-4300 or HawaiiEMA@hawaii.gov.
Official Social Media
During emergencies, it’s critical that you know where to get official, credible information about what’s happening. Here are some suggestions of social media sites to follow to stay informed.
Add a NOAA Weather Radio to Your Emergency Kit
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office 24-hours a day. Severe weather warnings are immediately broadcast, as well as other public safety and emergency messages issued by local authorities via the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
Unlike typical transistor radios which only receive AM/FM stations, a NOAA Weather Radio is required to receive the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards signal.
Units that receive the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards signal are available at many electronic retail stores, marine supply stores, mail order catalogs and the Internet. Prices vary by model and available options, but typically range between $20 -$80.