Aug. 11, 2021 —
FEMA Test 8-11
FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Aug. 11
Test messages will be sent to TVs, radios, select cell phones
FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this summer.
The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests will begin at 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
The Wireless Emergency Alert portion of the test will be directed only to consumer cell phones where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages. This will be the second nationwide WEA test, but the first nationwide WEA test on a consumer opt-in basis. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.
The Emergency Alert System portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the sixth nationwide EAS test.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers and other stakeholders in preparation for this national test to minimize confusion and to maximize the public safety value of the test. 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.
Launched in 2012, WEA is a tool for authorized government agencies to reach the American public during times of national emergency. It is used locally to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones.
Alerts are created and sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies through IPAWS to participating wireless providers, which deliver the alerts to compatible handsets in geo-targeted areas.
To help ensure that these alerts are accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration. The test handling code will allow FEMA to test this capability while limiting test messages to those phones that have opted in to receive test messages.
The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers (EAS participants).
In 2007, FEMA began modernizing the nation’s public alert and warning system by integrating new technologies into the existing alert systems. The new system, known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) became operational in 2011. Today, IPAWS supports nearly 1,600 state, local, tribal, territorial and federal users through a standardized message format. IPAWS enables public safety alerting authorities such as emergency managers, police, and fire departments to send the same alert and warning message over multiple communication pathways at the same time to citizens in harm’s way, helping to save lives.
For more information on FEMA’s IPAWS, go to www.fema.gov/ipaws. For more preparedness information, go to www.ready.gov.