FEMA and FCC plan nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023
FEMA and FCC plan nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 2:20 p.m. Test messages will be sent to all TVs, radios and cell phones.
The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last one minute. It'll be done with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.
The WEA portion will last approximately 30 minutes. Cell towers will broadcast the test. All wireless phones should receive the message only once.
In case the Oct. 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is Oct. 11.