The federal government will carry out a nationwide alert test on Wednesday, October 4. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will send notifications to cell phones (as well as radios and televisions) to test the National Wireless Emergency Alert System and ensure that the system (including the public’s familiarity with it) is primed for a real crisis.
The cell phone portion of the test will evaluate Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) across the country. If you live near a decent-sized metropolitan area, there’s a good chance you’ve received AMBER alerts through this system before; It can also transmit signals of imminent threats, public safety, and presidential advisories in the event of a national emergency. The WEA portion of the test will use the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)a centralized Internet-based system that can transmit emergency notifications over various communication networks.
If your cell phone is set to English, you will receive a message around 2:20 pm Eastern Time that says: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is required”. Those with phones set to Spanish as their primary language will see: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. “No action is needed.”
Of course, the messages will be accompanied by a “unique tone and vibration.” Based on previous testing we’ve received, this could easily be described as “a jarring, unpleasant alarm that will immediately make you stop what you’re doing, utter certain obscenities, and pick up the phone to stop it.”
Using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), the television and radio portion of the assessment is scheduled to occur simultaneously. This will be the seventh EAS test at the national level.
The cell phone portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately 30 minutes, but you should be able to dismiss the notification and turn off your phone as soon as you see and hear it. And in the (extremely unlikely) case of an actual emergency on Wednesday, the test will take place a week later, on the backup date of October 11.
