‘This is a test’: That tone on your phone today is FEMA testing its emergency alert system

Dalia Faheid
·4 min read
12

At 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, Texans will be sent a nationwide emergency alert test on cell phones, wireless devices, radios and TVs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.

The national test will have two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both are scheduled to begin at approximately 1:20 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 4. If the Oct. 4 test is postponed, due to widespread severe weather or other events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.

The WEA portion of the test will be directed to cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all WEA-compatible cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the phone.

The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh 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 maximize the public safety value of the test,” a press release says.

“The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” it goes on to say.

The WEA test will be initiated using FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks. It will be administered via a code sent to cell phones.

The EAS message will be disseminated as a Common Alerting Protocol message via the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System-Open Platform for Emergency Networks.

All wireless phones should receive the message only once. Here’s what can be expected from the nationwide WEA test:

  • Beginning at approximately 1:20 p.m. CT, cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and in a geographic area where the wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.

  • The message that appears on phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

  • Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”

  • Similar to when your phone receives an Amber Alert, the WEA alert tone is generally only played when the alert is initially received by the phone and on some devices stops as soon as the user clicks a button.

  • If a phone is off before the test alert is sent and not turned back on until after the WEA Test expires (about 30 minutes), the phone should not get the test message.

WEA alerts are created and sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies through Integrated Public Alert and Warning System to participating wireless providers, which deliver the alerts to compatible phones in geo-targeted areas. To help ensure that the alerts are accessible to the public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration.

What to know about the EAS test:

  • The EAS 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.

  • The test message will be similar to the regular monthly EAS test messages. It will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”