> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://api-v2-docs.disasteraware.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://api-v2-docs.disasteraware.com/hazards/hazard-samples/highsurf-sample.md).

# High Surf Sample

This page provides a complete sample response for a high surf hazard from the Active Hazards API endpoint. High surf hazards cover dangerous coastal wave and surf conditions and are sourced from agencies such as the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). This sample uses the BoM alert format, which follows the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard for coastal hazard warnings.

## High Surf-Specific Properties

### Incident Data

The `incident.properties` object for a BoM high surf hazard contains CAP-based alert metadata. Key incident properties include:

* `senderName` - Issuing agency (e.g., `"Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology"`)
* `headline` - Alert headline text describing the hazardous surf warning and affected coastal areas
* `description` - Detailed alert description (may be empty for some BoM alerts where the headline contains the primary information)
* `severity` - CAP severity level (e.g., `"Moderate"`)
* `urgency` - CAP urgency level (e.g., `"Unknown"`)
* `certainty` - CAP certainty level (e.g., `"Unknown"`)
* `event` - Event type name (e.g., `"Large Coastal Surf"`)
* `effective` / `expires` - ISO 8601 timing fields for the alert window
* `onset` - May be `null` for some BoM-sourced alerts
* `msgType` - CAP message type (e.g., `"Update"`)
* `instruction` - Recommended actions (may be empty)
* `category` - CAP category (e.g., `"Met"` for meteorological)
* `hazardSeverity` - Hazard severity classification (e.g., `"WARNING"`)
* `incidentLocationName` - Human-readable location (e.g., `"NE of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia"`)
* `headlineDescription` - Full descriptive headline with coastal zone details

### Features

The `features` property contains a GeoJSON FeatureCollection with `EXPOSURE_AREA` and `SMART_ALERT` features. Each EXPOSURE\_AREA feature represents a zone with a specific severity level. BoM-sourced alerts use MultiPolygon geometry covering coastal zones.

### Exposure Areas

High surf hazards use a single exposure level representing the source-provided alert area:

* **Level 1**: Source-provided alert area - the coastal zones covered by the hazardous surf warning

## Sample Response

```json
{
  "name": [
    {
      "locale": "en",
      "value": "Large Coastal Surf - NE of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia"
    }
  ],
  "description": [
    {
      "locale": "en",
      "value": "Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology has issued a Large Coastal Surf warning for March 14, 2026 13:00:00 UTC through March 15, 2026 13:00:00 UTC.\n\nIt is estimated that 186 people, 74 households, and $0 (USD) of infrastructure* are within the affected area(s). Exposure estimates will be refined as additional data from official sources becomes available.\n\nHazardous Surf Warning for Macquarie Coast: Smoky Cape to Seal Rocks, Hunter Coast: Seal Rocks to Broken Bay, Sydney Coast: Broken Bay to Port Hacking, Illawarra Coast: Port Hacking to Ulladulla, Batemans Coast: Ulladulla to Montague Island and Eden Coast: Montague Island to Gabo Island for 15 March..."
    }
  ],
  "severity": "WARNING",
  "category": "EVENT",
  "incident": {
    "uuid": "e32cb174-58e5-418a-9f68-e080dff362d4",
    "type": "HIGHSURF",
    "sourceId": 1799,
    "sourceRecordId": "AusBoM-IDN28522-2026-03-13T06:21:57+00:00",
    "properties": {
      "hazardName": "Large Coastal Surf - NE of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia",
      "senderName": "Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology",
      "urgency": "Unknown",
      "headline": "Hazardous Surf Warning for Macquarie Coast: Smoky Cape to Seal Rocks, Hunter Coast: Seal Rocks to Broken Bay, Sydney Coast: Broken Bay to Port Hacking, Illawarra Coast: Port Hacking to Ulladulla, Batemans Coast: Ulladulla to Montague Island and Eden Coast: Montague Island to Gabo Island for 15 March",
      "severity": "Moderate",
      "certainty": "Unknown",
      "status": null,
      "..."
    }
  },
  "uuid": "5fe46bea-0c3d-4215-993d-286f42d06bec",
  "comment": null,
  "createdAt": 1773425785,
  "relatedHazards": [],
  "longitude": 151.55698,
  "latitude": -34.16325,
  "version": 3,
  "alertGeometry": {
    "type": "FeatureCollection",
    "features": [
      {
        "type": "Feature",
        "geometry": {
          "type": "MultiPolygon",
          "coordinates": [...]
        },
        "properties": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "features": {
    "features": [
      {
        "id": null,
        "type": "Feature",
        "properties": {
          "severity": "MODERATE",
          "featureType": "EXPOSURE_AREA",
          "type": "EXPOSURE_AREA"
        },
        "geometry": {
          "type": "MultiPolygon",
          "coordinates": [...]
        },
        "incidentType": null,
        "sourceId": null
      },
      {
        "id": null,
        "type": "Feature",
        "properties": {
          "featureType": "SMART_ALERT",
          "type": "SMART_ALERT"
        },
        "geometry": {
          "type": "MultiPolygon",
          "coordinates": [...]
        },
        "incidentType": null,
        "sourceId": null
      }
    ],
    "incidentType": null,
    "metadata": null,
    "type": "FeatureCollection",
    "sourceId": null
  },
  "exposureAreas": {
    "features": [
      {
        "id": null,
        "type": "Feature",
        "properties": {
          "exposureLevel": 1
        },
        "geometry": {
          "type": "MultiPolygon",
          "coordinates": [...]
        },
        "sourceId": null
      }
    ],
    "type": "FeatureCollection"
  },
  "exposureAssessment": {
    "population": {
      "total": 186,
      "total0_14": 34,
      "total15_64": 120,
      "total65_Plus": 32,
      "households": 75,
      "vulnerable": 24
    },
    "capital": {
      "total": 0,
      "school": 0,
      "hospital": 0
    },
    "totalByCountry": [
      {
        "population": {
          "total": 186,
          "total0_14": 34,
          "total15_64": 120,
          "total65_Plus": 32,
          "households": 75,
          "vulnerable": 24
        },
        "country": "AUS",
        "capital": {
          "total": 0,
          "school": 0,
          "hospital": 0
        },
        "admin0": "Australia",
        "admin1": null,
        "admin2": null,
        "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
        "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
        "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
        "waterNeeds": 72.3,
        "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
        "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
        "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
        "shelterNeeds": 83.145
      }
    ],
    "totalByAdmin": [
      {
        "population": {
          "total": 186,
          "total0_14": 34,
          "total15_64": 120,
          "total65_Plus": 32,
          "households": 75,
          "vulnerable": 24
        },
        "country": "AUS",
        "capital": {
          "total": 0,
          "school": 0,
          "hospital": 0
        },
        "admin0": "Australia",
        "admin1": null,
        "admin2": null,
        "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
        "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
        "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
        "waterNeeds": 72.3,
        "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
        "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
        "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
        "shelterNeeds": 83.145
      }
    ],
    "exposureLevels": [
      {
        "level": "1",
        "data": {
          "population": {
            "total": 186,
            "total0_14": 34,
            "total15_64": 120,
            "total65_Plus": 32,
            "households": 75,
            "vulnerable": 24
          },
          "capital": {
            "total": 0,
            "school": 0,
            "hospital": 0
          },
          "totalByCountry": [
            {
              "population": {
                "total": 186,
                "total0_14": 34,
                "total15_64": 120,
                "total65_Plus": 32,
                "households": 75,
                "vulnerable": 24
              },
              "country": "AUS",
              "capital": {
                "total": 0,
                "school": 0,
                "hospital": 0
              },
              "admin0": "Australia",
              "admin1": null,
              "admin2": null,
              "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
              "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
              "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
              "waterNeeds": 72.3,
              "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
              "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
              "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
              "shelterNeeds": 83.145
            }
          ],
          "totalByAdmin": [
            {
              "population": {
                "total": 186,
                "total0_14": 34,
                "total15_64": 120,
                "total65_Plus": 32,
                "households": 75,
                "vulnerable": 24
              },
              "country": "AUS",
              "capital": {
                "total": 0,
                "school": 0,
                "hospital": 0
              },
              "admin0": "Australia",
              "admin1": null,
              "admin2": null,
              "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
              "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
              "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
              "waterNeeds": 72.3,
              "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
              "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
              "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
              "shelterNeeds": 83.145
            }
          ],
          "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
          "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
          "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
          "waterNeeds": 72.3,
          "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
          "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
          "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
          "shelterNeeds": 83.145
        },
        "exposureDescription": "MODERATE"
      }
    ],
    "hazardUuid": "",
    "hazardType": "",
    "version": "",
    "timestamp": "1773425772997",
    "exposureDescription": "",
    "foodNeedsUnit": "CAL",
    "foodNeeds": 50610.0,
    "waterNeedsUnit": "liter",
    "waterNeeds": 72.3,
    "wasteNeedsUnit": "100 liter",
    "wasteNeeds": 2.41,
    "shelterNeedsUnit": "sq meters",
    "shelterNeeds": 83.145
  },
  "type": "HIGHSURF",
  "creator": "RICHTER",
  "source": null,
  "startedAt": 1773493200,
  "updatedAt": 1773425772,
  "endedAt": 1773579600
}
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Note: Coordinate arrays have been replaced with `[...]` for brevity. In actual API responses, these contain complete GeoJSON coordinate arrays. The `incident.properties` object has been truncated with `"..."` to show only key fields. The full response includes additional CAP metadata fields. This sample shows a BoM-sourced hazardous surf warning covering the New South Wales coast of Australia. Note that `exposureAssessment` shows minimal population because this alert covers primarily offshore and coastal waters. The `features` collection includes EXPOSURE\_AREA and SMART\_ALERT features; BoM alerts use `AMOC-AreaCode` geocode values in the full CAP\_INFO features rather than the `profile:CAP-CP:Location` codes used by Environment Canada.
{% endhint %}