National Emergency Alert Test is October 3
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is reminding Tennesseans today to be aware of the planned national emergency alert test the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018.
On Wednesday, FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
“This is an important test of our nation’s public alerting capabilities,” TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said. “We don’t want Tennesseans to be surprised when they see, or hear, the alert on television or radio, and also receive it on their mobile devices. This is also a preparedness opportunity to remind citizens how important it is to have multiple options for receiving emergency alerts and warnings at home, on the road, and at work.”
The national IPAWS test will include both a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) message, sent to mobile devices, at 2:18 p.m., Eastern, and an Emergency Alert System (EAS) message, to be broadcast on radio and television, at 2:20 p.m., Eastern.
The WEA message will display on mobile devices as a Presidential Alert and will read: THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.
FEMA will send only one WEA message to mobile devices and because the WEA message is a Presidential Alert, users will not be able to opt out of receiving the message, even if users have deactivated alert notifications in their mobile devices.
Only wireless providers who have chosen to participate in the national WEA test will deliver the WEA message to their customers’ mobile devices.
The EAS portion of the test is expected to last one minute and will allow FEMA to verify the delivery and broadcast of a national test message and assess the infrastructure for its distribution.
This is the fourth time FEMA has conducted a national EAS test and is the first time for a national WEA test. Previous EAS national tests were conducted in September 2011, 2016 and 2017 in collaboration with the FCC, broadcasters, and emergency management officials in recognition of FEMA’s National Preparedness Month.
About the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency: TEMA’s mission is to coordinate preparedness, response and recovery from man-made, natural and technological hazards in a professional and efficient manner in concert with our stakeholders. Follow TEMA on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and, at www.tn.gov/tema.
About ReadyTN: ReadyTN is a mobile device application from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) providing emergency preparedness, response, and recovery information to Tennesseans.Ready TN is available for mobile devices running Apple and Android operating systems. For more information on ReadyTN’s features and on downloading, visit www.tn.gov/tema/ready-tn.html.
Attachments: National EAS and WEA Test Press Release, Fact Sheet English, Fact Sheet Spanish