Emergency Alert Test: Heads Up for Today’s Warning Message on Your Phone

Put together your self: Your phone, TV and radio will obtain emergency messages when the nationwide alert system is examined immediately. The US Federal Communications Fee and Federal Emergency Administration Company are trialing their US-wide emergency alert methods on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The Wi-fi Emergency Alerts, or WEA, system for phones is being examined similtaneously the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, for TVs and radios. It is the seventh nationwide EAS take a look at and the second test to all cellular devices within the US.

Here is all the pieces it’s essential to know concerning the take a look at immediately.

What to know concerning the emergency alert take a look at

At round 2:20 p.m. ET/11:20 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 4, cell towers will start broadcasting an emergency alert for half-hour. In case your phone is in vary of a cell tower, you will get a message that claims: “THIS IS A TEST of the Nationwide Wi-fi Emergency Alert System. No motion is required.”

The emergency alerts can be in English or Spanish, relying in your telephone’s set language. The telephone alerts can be “accompanied by a novel tone and vibration” to make them as accessible as doable.

The alert despatched on TVs and radios will final for 1 minute and can state: “This can be a nationwide take a look at of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Administration Company, protecting the US from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. That is solely a take a look at. No motion is required by the general public.”

If a extreme climate or different occasion happens on Oct. 4, the take a look at can be postponed till Oct. 11.

What sort of occasions set off emergency alerts?

These are the forms of WEA and EAS alerts that could possibly be despatched to you in nontest conditions:

• Public security alerts.
• AMBER alerts throughout child-abduction crises.
• Presidential alerts in case of nationwide emergencies.

There are additionally alerts despatched for imminent threats resembling: 

• Excessive climate and pure catastrophe alerts from the Nationwide Climate Service, like flash floods, tornados, tsunamis, extreme thunderstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, storm surges, excessive wind, mud storms and snow squalls.
• Energetic shooters.
• Human-made disasters.
• Blue Alerts for when legislation enforcement officers are attacked.
• Different threatening emergencies.

WEA messages are unaffected by community congestion.