Boyertown PA
10-03-2023 4:31am

Emergency Broadcast System To Be Tested Nationwide

by Lesley Misko

At best, the blaring siren sound is startling; at worst, it can feel terrifying. That’s why we think it is worth sharing that this Wednesday, Oct. 4 there will be what the newspaper USA Today calls “a massive emergency alert system test.” 

News sources report that the test siren and message at about 2:20 p.m. eastern time, will be sent to televisions, radios, cellphones. The test is being coordinated with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). With all these devices receiving the siren and message at once, the impact can be rather overwhelming. If your children carry cell phones, you might want to alert them in advance.

This is the seventh national test of the Emergency Alert System with previous tests occurring between 2011 and 2021. However, it is only the third time testing nationwide wireless alerts, and the second time testing alerts to all cellphones.

The message that will be transmitted will be the same everywhere and will simply 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.”

Joseph Trainor, a University of Delaware faculty member who specializes in design of disaster warning systems, told CBS news, “The idea is that all of these systems are trying to work together to get information out, in as many ways as possible, to the right people so that folks have the information to make good choices about the risks around them.”

Federal law has mandated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must test the warning system at least once every three years. Trainor says that it is important to “test the technological limits of the system” and it is also beneficial in making citizens aware of what to do in the case of a national emergency. This is a good reminder that people should develop emergency plans with their family if they have not already done so, Trainor suggests.

As a means for the American government to utilize radio stations to warn people about an enemy attack during the Cold War, the national emergency broadcast system was created in 1951.

Now that we know “it is just a test,” let’s be patient with the interruption to our daily activities and grateful it is just a test.

More News from Boyertown
I'm interested
I disagree with this
This is unverified
Spam
Offensive