Emergency Alert Test Planned Across Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, is conducting a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless

Emergency Alerts beginning at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday.

The tests are two parts: The Wireless Emergency Alert portion of the test will be directed only to consumer cell phones where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages. It will be the second nationwide WEA test, but the first nationwide WEA test on a consumer opt-in basis.

The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the phone's language settings.

For consumers who have opted in to receive WEA test messages, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

Opt-in phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”

Beginning at 11:20 p.m., cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages, that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.

The Emergency Alert System portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. It will be the sixth nationwide EAS test.

The tests are intended to ensure public safety officials have the methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public in times of an emergency or disaster.

"The purpose of the Aug. 11 test is to ensure that the EAS and WEA systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level," according to a joint news release from FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission.

"The WEA portion of the test will be initiated using FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks," the news release continued. "The WEA test will be administered via a code that alerts only phones that have opted in to receive WEA test messages."

The EAS portion of the test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and will be conducted with the participation of radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers (EAS participants).

At the last minute, something could delay the alerts.

"In case the Aug. 11 test is canceled due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, a back-up testing date is scheduled for Aug. 25," the news release stated.

In 2007, FEMA began modernizing the nation’s public alert and warning system by integrating new technologies into the existing alert systems. The new IPAWS became operational in 2011.

"IPAWS enables public safety alerting authorities such as emergency managers, police, and fire departments to send the same alert and warning message over multiple communication pathways at the same time to citizens in harm’s way, helping to save lives," the news release continued.

For more information on FEMA’s IPAWS, go to www.fema.gov/ipaws. For more preparedness information, go to www.ready.gov.