Early Warning Systems: An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events. Early Warning Systems make part of integrated risk management (IRM), a circular model that describes the handling of risks. Early warning systems are an element of preparedness within IRM and enhances emergency provisions. By keeping people and communities at the center of an EWS from the beginning (“people-centered early warning systems”), such systems can contribute to daily life and livelihoods, thereby supporting wider disaster risk reduction and sustainable development endeavors. Early warning systems are not merely technical. They need to be viewed as a social process which often involves technical components embedded in their social context.