U.S. emergency alert test on TV and radio expected this week
By Bryan Pietsch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A test of the U.S. Emergency Alert System will be sent to radios and televisions across the United States on Wednesday, excluding cell phones hit by a presidential alert last year, U.S. agencies said on Monday.
This test will evaluate the U.S. government's readiness to alert residents of an emergency in the "absence of internet connectivity" and will last for around one minute, the agencies said.
The test alert will be issued on Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission, the agencies said in a statement.
Radios and televisions will receive the message, but cell phones will not, FEMA said. In October last year, the Trump administration and FEMA issued a presidential alert to cell phones through the Wireless Emergency Alerts system.
(Reporting by Bryan Pietsch; Editing by David Gregorio)
