FEMA to Test Nationwide Emergency Alert System Tomorrow, October 4

[RaleighGuy]

On Wednesday, October 4, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) systems.

The WEA and EAS tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20PM ET and will affect televisions, radios, and cellular devices with a unique tone and vibration; people and businesses should not be alarmed – this is just a test. “The message that appears on cell phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed” in English and/or Spanish.

The WEA test will be broadcast for 30 minutes, and the EAS test will last for one minute.

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. Again, this is just a test! To learn more, visit FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4; Test Messages Will be Sent to All TVs, Radios and Cell Phones

 

[SA_tx_88116]

Where will it be aired on radio?

 

[RaleighGuy]

Where will it be aired on radio?

Supposed to be everywhere, all Radio & TV stations and Cellphones.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

Supposed to be everywhere, all Radio & TV stations and Cellphones.

Even scanners? And what frequencies?

 

[RaleighGuy]

Even scanners? And what frequencies?

Only if your scanner is programmed for radio or TV audio

 

[nd5y]

Even scanners? And what frequencies?

None. Unless you are in an area where some government agency broadcasts EAS alerts on some frequency or trunking talkgroup for some reason.

Maybe NOAA Weather Radio. I don't remember if they did the nationwide test last time.

 

[W1KNE]

Maybe NOAA Weather Radio. I don't remember if they did the nationwide test last time.

They do not. Radio and TV will be relaying it through their emergency alerting system (EAS).

 

[hruskacha]

I did an IQ recording of 162.362MHz - 162.5875 (NOAA Weather Radio) from 2:10pm to 2:30pm in Muskegon, Michigan. I did not observe any EAS Test related transmissions.

 

[12dbsinad]

I did not receive the DEFCON 3 notification today on my Iphone 14.

Apparently Verizon does not care about my well-being!

 

[dave3825]

I did not receive the DEFCON 3 notification today on my Iphone 14.

Apparently Verizon does not care about my well-being!

Got mine on VZW, as well as in invite to do a survey

 

[Benkasey]

I received the alert on an old smartphone that I now use as a VOIP desk phone. It doesnt have a SIM card in it, it's just connected to Wi-Fi. Did the alert come from my VOIP provider?

 

[mmckenna]

I received the alert on an old smartphone that I now use as a VOIP desk phone. It doesnt have a SIM card in it, it's just connected to Wi-Fi. Did the alert come from my VOIP provider?

While it has no SIM card, it can still hear the cell sites. The message gets broadcast out to all phones, SIM or not. Sort of like how cell phones will still call 911 even if you are not paying for service. It's a safety thing.

 

[nd5y]

I bought a new phone last year and when I first powered it up out of the box, without a SIM and with no wifi, it made the EAS tone and showed every local emergency message from about the last two years.

 

[dlwtrunked]

I did an IQ recording of 162.362MHz - 162.5875 (NOAA Weather Radio) from 2:10pm to 2:30pm in Muskegon, Michigan. I did not observe any EAS Test related transmissions.

NOAA Weather radio was never intended to carry the EAS Test and did not (although some of their websites mentioned the test).
Monitoring my cell, FM broadcast, and TV. the cellphone saw it first and after a minute or two, it was on the TV, and quickly after that on a local broadcast station.

 

[dave3825]

I bought a new phone last year and when I first powered it up out of the box, without a SIM and with no wifi, it made the EAS tone and showed every local emergency message from about the last two years.

What model? My son’s teacher made this whole class power their phones off. My son thought he would receive it when the phone was powered back on but has not gotten anything yet. Verizon iPhone.

 

[ecps92]

I did not receive the DEFCON 3 notification today on my Iphone 14.

Apparently Verizon does not care about my well-being!

Phone didn’t get the Emergency Alert System test? This may be why

A nationwide test of the country’s Emergency Alert System Wednesday went out to TVs, radios and phones – at least most phones.

thehill.com

Emergency alert test: Why your phone may not have gotten the alarm

Federal law requires the National Wireless Emergency Alerts system be tested at least once every three years.

www.13newsnow.com

 

[nd5y]

What model?

The WEA app and how it is configured (vendor and user settings), the OS (maybe) and the carriers in your area (how they handle devices without SIMs) are probably more important than the phone model.

I got a phone that has a de-googled forked Android OS, and the OS was upgraded several times since I first got it so that could be irrelevant now.

 

[wx9svr]

NOAA Weather radio was never intended to carry the EAS Test and did not (although some of their websites mentioned the test).

That's interesting considering that:

"The majority of EAS alerts originate from the National Weather Service in response to severe weather events, but an increasing number of state, local, territorial, and tribal authorities also send alerts. In addition, the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards network, the only federally-sponsored radio transmission of warning information to the public, is part of the EAS."

- Courtesy: The Emergency Alert System (EAS)

Sure, they have the Required Weekly Tests (RWTs), but those are generated locally & wouldn't necessarily be sufficient if they're wanting an end-to-end system test. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[ENGINEERCARL1]

I did an IQ recording of 162.362MHz - 162.5875 (NOAA Weather Radio) from 2:10pm to 2:30pm in Muskegon, Michigan. I did not observe any EAS Test related transmissions.

You wouldn't.

NOAA/NWS may send messages to the FEMA CAP/IPAWS system (where the national test originated), but they do not pull from it. Radio/TV/Cable do.

WEA (the mobile phone alerting system) is a separate workflow.

EC

 

[MUTNAV]

That's interesting considering that:

"The majority of EAS alerts originate from the National Weather Service in response to severe weather events, but an increasing number of state, local, territorial, and tribal authorities also send alerts. In addition, the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards network, the only federally-sponsored radio transmission of warning information to the public, is part of the EAS."

- Courtesy: The Emergency Alert System (EAS)

Sure, they have the Required Weekly Tests (RWTs), but those are generated locally & wouldn't necessarily be sufficient if they're wanting an end-to-end system test. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Agreed, when looking at the codes available for emergencies

NWR NWS Event Codes

It's clear they should be part of the test (everything from Child Abduction to Civil Danger and Radiological warnings ), all the other means of communications of emergencies seem a little ad-hoc in comparison.

Thanks
Joel