Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Emergency Alert System Gets First National Test Wednesday

    By Veena Bissram | Mashable – Mon, Nov 7, 2011

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will run the first-ever Emergency Alert System (EAS) test for 30 seconds Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST, which will be used to inform Americans in the case of a national emergency.

    The test alert will resemble warnings previously issued for weather emergencies in affected areas, interrupting all U.S. television (including cable) and radio (including sattelite) stations. Listeners will hear a message announcing "This is a test," and viewers may see a message across the television screen that reads, "Emergency Action Notification has been issued."

    [More from Mashable: Do We Really Need a National CTO?]

    The alert, administered in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will be used to inform Americans in the event of a national emergency, should other modes of communication be unavailable.

    According to FEMA, the Nov. 9 date was chosen because it's near the end of hurricane season and mostly before the start of winter weather (although the northeast got an early taste of snow this year). The early afternoon time slot will avoid daily rush hours and fall during normal business hours in most time zones.

    In addition to government efforts, private service provider T-Mobile issued a test warning last Saturday to thousands of their subscribers, which rang a siren noise and read "Presidential Alert" with the word "Test" below.

    The alert was part of FEMA's Personalized Local Alert Network, which allows “customers who own an enabled mobile device to receive geographically targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area.”

    Image courtesy of iStockphoto, BradenGunem

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

     
     
    Top Locations Bricktown Chicago Washington Aberdeen

    7 comments

    • Mr LOL
      Mr LOL  •  6 mths ago
      they are getting ready for a nuclear war. they know something we don't. maybe iran, maybe china, maybe russia. the higher up folks KNOW something and are getting ready. MARK MY WORDS.
    • Tim
      Tim  •  Chicago, United States  •  6 mths ago
      isn't it kinda weird we are doing a nation wide test. Maybe there is something that is going to happen that the government has not told us yet.
    • Shorecorruption
      Shorecorruption  •  Bricktown, United States  •  6 mths ago
      It only took 10 years and $ 85 billion to get it running.
      • Mr LOL
        Mr LOL 6 mths ago
        they are getting ready for a nuclear war. they know something we don't. maybe iran, maybe china, maybe russia. the higher up folks KNOW something and are getting ready. MARK MY WORDS.
    • patois
      patois  •  Aberdeen, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Sounds like commie pinko liberal socialist bleedingheart crap to me. I mean, only the "RIGHT" people should get a heads up from the government and be given time to take cover or else all the working-class trash crowds the roads and airports and stuff. Give just the "RIGHT" people the best chances to survive and you'll have a real strong nation. Like GOP candidate Romney said this year, it ain't "RIGHT" to tax "successful" people because everyone else, all the working-class trash, depend on the "successful" people to make a living. God Bless America and the "RIGHT" family values.
    • john
      john  •  Washington, United States  •  6 mths ago
      useless! when will he get up and announce near extinction of species, the next community to suffer an oil spill or water fouling by big polluters, when is he going to propose the wall street transaction tax....these are emergencies overlooked by our glorious leader.
    • Carlos
      Carlos  •  6 mths ago
      for those 30 seconds, a mass transfer of private funds will be placed into Obozo's campaign accounts.....no one will realize the deposits were made and therfor become untraceable...ta-da! i figured out the "master-plan".....hahaha! or part of it anyways....lmao!
    • A
      A  •  6 mths ago
      OOOOHHHHHHHH beware of the boogie man. Keeping the people paranoid and in fear.
      • Mr LOL
        Mr LOL 6 mths ago
        they are getting ready for a nuclear war. they know something we don't. maybe iran, maybe china, maybe russia. the higher up folks KNOW something and are getting ready. MARK MY WORDS.
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...