The World Meteorological Organization has developed a set of e-learning resources to support the dissemination of extreme weather warnings.
The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is a data format for exchanging public warnings of hazards such as floods, landslides, tropical cyclones, strong winds, drought and heat waves. It enables automated transmission of warnings over most communication platforms in order to better reach all parties in need of such information.
The CAP standard is also an important component of the WMO Global Multi-hazard Alert System (GMAS), a platform that the organization is developing for collecting and displaying all warnings issued by authorized sources, on a real-time basis. It expects GMAS to markedly improve access to vital warning information by United Nations organizations that deal with hazards and disasters, globally.
To aid organizations working to the CAP standard, the WMO has developed a set of e-learning resources and courses on the Moodle software platform. It said these resources will enable members to develop their skills for the implementation of the CAP standard.
Three separate courses are offered within the platform and can be selected based on the role and responsibilities of the participant in administering and maintaining CAP alert systems. In addition to the courses, the WMO is also providing a collection of free and documented IT resources.
The CAP platform is accessible at cap.wmo.int