TODAY: Massive Test of the Emergency Alert System - You Need to Know THIS

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Get ready for a lot of simultaneously buzzing phones today, October 4th. There is going to be a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), after one o’clock, our time. It’s going to be heard on your radio or television, as well.

According to The Messenger, FEMA is coordinating with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to carry out the test – at approximately 1:20 p.m. [2:20 p.m. ET] on Wednesday, Oct. 4 – and it will be split into two portions.

The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. This will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all cellular devices.

The message will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The alerts are accompanied by a “unique tone and vibration” according to FEMA.

The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.

This will be the third nationwide test, and the second to all cellular devices.

The Emergency Alert System is a national public warning system, which is designed to permit the president to speak to the American people, within ten minutes, during a national emergency. The message goes out over specific outlets such as radio and television. Wireless Emergency Alerts are short messages — 360 characters or less — that go to mobile phones to alert their owners to important emergency information.

(Headline News, FYI and Sports stories were compiled in part from reports by the Associated Press and Reuters.)

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