Inform drivers of large-scale unplanned disruptions

An unplanned disruption is a live, unexpected traffic event that has a major impact on traffic flow and lasts for an extended period. As a Waze partner, you can inform drivers of unplanned disruptions by adding them as traffic events in the Waze Map Editor (WME). Explore our short course to learn more about adding road closures and events in Waze.

Before adding an unplanned disruption, make sure it meets the following criteria:

• It's an out-of-the-ordinary, unplanned traffic disruption happening in real time
• It's expected to affect at least 100,000 drivers on impacted or nearby roads
• The resulting traffic impact from the disruption is expected to last longer than 3 hours

Add an unplanned disruption in the WME

1. Create the event

   1. Log in to the Waze Map Editor
   2. In the search bar, enter the location of the event
   3. In the left-side panel, click Events. The panel will expand.
   4. Click Create event
   5. In the "Event category" field, select Unplanned disruption
   6. In the "Impacted area" field, define the affected area. You can do this in 2 ways:
      • Option 1: Draw a polygon
        1. Select "Specific area (recommended)"
        2. Click Draw on map
        3. With your mouse pointer, click on the map to start drawing the polygon around the affected area
        4. Double-click to close the polygon
           Note: If the polygon-based event doesn't have closures, once it's submitted, you can't delete the polygon you drew. To edit a polygon's area, click it and adjust the points. Repeat for each adjustment.
      • Option 2: Enter coordinates
        1. Select “Specific area (recommended)”
        2. Click Insert area coordinates
        3. Paste the GeoJSON, KML, or WKT polygon string
        4. Click Create polygon
           Note: Defining a polygon is optional if you intend to only associate road closures with the event. For combined events with both known road closures and an overall affected area, it's recommended to map both.
   7. In the "Start of traffic" field, select the current time you're creating the event, even if the event began earlier
   8. In the "End of traffic" field, enter the predicted end time for when traffic is expected to clear. You can extend or shorten this time later based on real-time changes.
   9. In the "Event name" field, enter the name for your event in English. Use this format: [Enter location] [Enter type of event]. See detailed guidelines, including examples, here.
   10. In the "Event description" field, enter a short description of the event. Use this format: [What happened + specific location] [Immediate impact] [What drivers should do] [Other relevant information, if available]. See detailed guidelines, including examples, here.
   11. If relevant, in the "Translations" field, select the relevant language
       • In the "Event name" field, enter the event name in the local language
       • In the "Event description" field, enter the event description in the local language
   12. If available, in the “Event website” field, add a link to official information about the unplanned disruption
   13. In the top-right corner, click Save

   Note: If your unplanned disruption event doesn't involve specific road closures, proceed to step 3: "Submit the event."

2. Associate closures with the unplanned disruption (Optional)

   If your unplanned disruption event involves specific road closures, you can associate them with the event. This is especially useful for combined closure and polygon-based events.

   1. Find the closure’s location. You can either:
      • Pan around and find it on the map
      • In the search bar, enter the closure's coordinates (recommended)
   2. Click the relevant segment
   3. Click the Road Closures tab
   4. Click Add closure
   5. In the “Description” field, enter the event name
   6. In the “Direction” field, select the direction from which the road is closed
   7. Enter the "Start" and "End" dates and times for the closure
      Tip: For closures that are expected to last all day, set the closure times to 00:00 - 23:59 for that specific day.
   8. In the "Event" field, select the unplanned disruption you previously created
   9. Select or clear the "HOV/Service Road adjacent" option
      Tip: If this option is selected, Waze ignores all detected live traffic and won't monitor the closure for real-time changes. Select this option only if the closure is next to an HOV/Service lane where GPS readings may be misunderstood as activity on the closed road.
   10. In the “Closure nodes” field, close or open closure nodes. Closing a node prevents traffic from passing through it in any direction, including cross streets.
       Tip: Use this feature sparingly as closing all nodes can lead to blocking valid turn options, preventing Waze from routing drivers through open intersections.
   11. In the “Provided by” field, select your organization
   12. In the top-right corner, click Save
   13. Repeat the steps in this section for each closure

3. Submit the event

   1. Click Events
   2. Click your event to view the details
   3. Verify the event details are correct
   4. Click the Road Closures tab
   5. Verify the road closures are associated with the event
   6. Click the General tab
   7. Click Submit. A pop-up window will appear.
   8. Click OK
   9. In the top-right corner, click Save

   Submitting the event will create an event webpage, visible at waze.com/events, and will appear in the WME’s event list with a “Ready” status.

Got questions?