Nationwide emergency alert test to be sent to cellphones on Wednesday afternoon
Cell phones will receive the message that will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."
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WASHINGTON – FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, has scheduled a nationwide alert during October that will test radios, televisions and cell phones across the country.
The agencies say the nationwide event will test the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts around 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
The WEA portion of the event will test all cellular devices, and the EAS portion will test radio, television and other video providers.
According to FEMA, phones within range of a cell tower will receive a message that states: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."
The message will display in either English or Spanish, depending on the phone’s set language.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 03: In this photo illustration, a phone displays an emergency alert message that reads "Presidential Alert. THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed" on October 3, 2018 in New York City. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent the "presidential alert" as a test to millions of phones across the United States. (Photo Illustration by Theo Wargo/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The test message heard on radios and televisions will be similar and read: "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."
According to the FCC, wireless alerts have been used more than 78,000 times to warn phone and other mobile users about extreme weather, missing children and other critical incidents.
"The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level," FEMA stated in a recent news release.
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If a widespread severe weather event or another national emergency occurs on Oct. 4, FEMA said the test will be moved to Oct. 11
This will only be the second nationwide test for all cellular devices and the seventh for radio, television and other video providers.