Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) National Test, rescheduled to October 3, 2018
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system on October 3, 2018.
The test will assess the readiness to distribute an emergency message nationwide and determine whether improvements are needed.
The test messages will be sent using FEMA’s IPAWS, which enables authorities to send emergency messages to multiple communications networks, including the EAS and WEA as part of the nation’s modern alert and warning infrastructure.
Sending the WEA test message will begin at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The EAS message will be sent at 2:20 p.m. EDT.
This will be the first nationwide Presidential-level WEA test and cannot be opted out.
Originally planned for September 20, 2018, the test has been postponed until October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence.
The WEA test message will be a Presidential Alert and will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
The EAS message will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar Wireless Emergency Alert test message has been sent to all cell phones nationwide. Some cell phones will receive the message; others will not. No action is required.”
Disclaimer:
This communication is provided by FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System’s Program Management Office to highlight program announcements and does
not endorse any non-government organizations, entities, or services.