Badge Quest
Do not seek out these events. They will find you. Badge Quest is a game, not an official alert source. Always follow official instructions from your local authorities and the alert itself. Not affiliated with FEMA, the National Weather Service or the FCC.

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KETTLE badge: 8-bit pixel art for the Boil Water / Hazmat alert

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CORE BADGE

KETTLE BADGE

ALERT
Boil Water / Hazmat
CODES
HMW · RHW · NUW · CDW · boil-water
RARITY
★★★☆☆ RARE
UPGRADE
CAULDRON after 10 alerts

“Boil it. Then boil it again. Then maybe just buy water.”

⚠ Do not seek out these events. They will find you.

Never travel toward a storm, fire, flood or any emergency to earn a badge. This page is general safety information, not an alert. If you get a real alert, follow the instructions in it and from local officials.

What this alert means

KETTLE covers Hazardous Materials Warnings (HMW), Radiological Hazard Warnings (RHW), Nuclear Power Plant Warnings (NUW), related civil danger messages, and boil-water notices sent by local officials.

Boil-water notices mean the tap water may contain germs. A "do not drink" notice is different: it usually means chemicals, and boiling will not make that water safe.

What to do if you get one

  • Follow the alert exactly: it will say whether to shelter in place or evacuate.
  • For a chemical or radiation release: get inside, stay inside, close windows and turn off outside ventilation, and stay tuned for updates.
  • For a boil-water notice: use bottled water, or bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 feet) and let it cool. Use it for drinking, cooking, baby formula and brushing teeth.
  • For a "do not drink" notice: do not boil the water. Use bottled water.

Summarized from the official guidance below. The alert itself and your local authorities always come first.

How the badge is earned

A hazmat, radiation or boil-water WEA for your home area.

It happens automatically. The Badge Quest server reads the public FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service alert feeds and awards the badge when an alert's official target area covers the home area you set (ZIP code or location). There's nothing to log or claim, and it can't be faked.

How rare is it?

RARE ★★★☆☆: the RARE tier means 50 to 199 WEA messages a year nationally. ~57 WEA messages/yr nationally (2023-25 avg: 35 / 66 / 71).

WEA-flagged alert messages in FEMA's IPAWS archive (IPAWS archive filter: HMW, RHW, NUW, BOIL). One message can cover a small area, so your personal odds are much lower.
YearKETTLE messagesAll WEA messages
2023357,349
20246610,377
20257110,284
Avg / yr579,337

How rarity is calculated

Upgrade: CAULDRON

KETTLE badgeCAULDRON, the upgraded KETTLE badge: pixel art

CAULDRON

★★★★☆ EPIC

After 10 different qualifying alerts for your area, the game shows “Hold on... your KETTLE badge is upgrading!” and then “Your KETTLE badge was upgraded to a CAULDRON!”. Repeats of the same alert don't count twice.

“Ten boil-water and hazmat alerts. Your kettle retired. You own a cauldron now.”

Upgraded badges rank one rarity tier above their base badge (capped at LEGENDARY). That tier is a game rule, not a separate statistic.

Official sources

Rarity data

Collect them all

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