Be alert but not alarmed if your cellphones, radios and TVs start making loud noises on Oct. 4 as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Federal Communications Commission will be conducting nationwide emergency alert testing.
The two tests, one for consumer cellular devices and the other for radio and television, will be held at 2:20 p.m. that day.
The cellular portion, testing the Wireless Emergency Alerts system, will send a test message to phones for 30 minutes; phones that are turned on and able to receive the alert will sound a unique alarm and vibrate, FEMA said.
A written message will also appear on phones, reading “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” For Spanish-language phones, a Spanish translation of the message will be displayed instead.
It will be the third time nationwide WEA capabilities will have been tested and the second such test targeting all American cellphones, FEMA said.
The radio and TV portion of the testing will see how the nationwide Emergency Alert System holds up, the seventh such nationwide test of those capabilities. America’s radio and TV providers, whether via broadcasting, satellite, cable or wireline, will participate.
The EAS testing will last for a minute, with a message stating “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
If the tests are unable to be held on Oct. 4 due to weather or other significant events, the backup date for testing is Oct. 11.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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