EAS Nationwide Test scheduled for Wednesday, August 7, 2019: FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and radio and television Emergency Alert System (EAS) participants, will conduct a nationwide test of EAS beginning at 2:20 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019. The test, which uses IPAWS, is a key way to assess the operational readiness of the Nation’s alert and warning infrastructures for distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are warranted.
Public safety officials need to be sure that they are able to get urgent, life-saving alerts to the public in times of an emergency or disaster. This year’s test will evaluate the readiness of our national alerting capability in the absence of internet connectivity, focusing on the capability of EAS radio and television providers to distribute a test message nationwide.
The 2019 IPAWS National Test of EAS will broadcast a test message that is approximately one minute long. Broadcast radio and television, cable, wireline service providers, and direct broadcast satellite service providers (not on smartphones or other means) will each broadcast the test message once within a few minutes of the test. The national EAS test message will look and sound very much like the regular Required Monthly Test messages broadcast by all EAS participants.
The EAS test message is expected to have limited impact on the public with only a minor interruption to regular radio and television programs.
The EAS test message will be: “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 Communication 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. No action is required."