The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide combined test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
FEMA rescheduled the original date of Sept. 20 due to severe weather.
At 2:18 p.m. EDT on Oct. 3, FEMA will begin sending a WEA test message to WEA-capable wireless devices, and most handsets will receive the alert within a few minutes. The test message will state: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The alert will have a special tone and vibration that will repeat twice. There is no charge to receive the message.
According to FEMA’s website, the test is intended to ensure public safety officials have the methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public in times of an emergency or disaster. The alert system warns the public of extreme weather situations, Amber Alerts of missing children and other critical situations.
FEMA officials said cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, cell phones that are switched on and within range of an active cell tower should be capable of receiving the test message. Cell phones should receive the message once.
“Our participation in this test will provide valuable information on the effectiveness and reliability of the emergency alert system and wireless emergency alerts,” said Matt Kasper, director of sales at U.S. Cellular in New England. “We encourage everyone to have their wireless phones turned on and available at the time of the test so they know what to expect in a real emergency.”
This will be the first national WEA test. More information is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test.
