The nation’s public alert system will be tested at 11:20 a.m. today.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will test the nation’s public alert and warning systems at 11:20 a.m. PDT, according to Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Cameron.
“So, if your cellphone begins making weird sounds tomorrow morning about 11:20, this is probably the reason,” he said in a press release.
This is not new, Cameron said; FEMA regularly tests the public alert and warning systems.
The purpose of the test is to assess the effectiveness of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to receive and convey a national message via radio and television, and of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) infrastructure to deliver a test message to cellphones, Cameron said in a press release.
“The EAS national test is very similar to regular monthly tests we often see on TV or hear on radio. The test message sent to WEA will only be received by specially configured cell phones and will read: ‘THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed,’” Cameron said
Only phones that have been opted in specifically to receive system test messages will display the test message, which will be in either English or Spanish, depending on the device’s language settings.
