FEMA To Perform Nationwide Emergency Alert Test Wednesday Afternoon

FEMA is conducting a nationwide emergency alert test Wednesday at 1:20 p.m. central time.

Overton County EMA Director Chris Masiongale said the organization tests periodically to ensure their equipment and data works properly.

“Technology changes so often and so much with cellphones especially and wireless devices,” Masiongale said. “That the need to test and make sure our or the federal government and Tennessee’ devices can notify the public working properly.”

Masiongale said people can expect the alerts to show up on their radios, TVs, and cellphones if they were to opt-in.

“I have opted-in to receive the text messages,” Masiongale said. “And then the data that I receive will give them feedback. Did I receive it, number one, did it come through clearly, was it understandable, and things of that nature.”

Masiongale said that the Emergency Alert System was used some 60,000 times nationally in 2020.

The test will be a two-part event, testing the capabilities of both Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the EAS. Masiongale said that even though the national tests are only used in the case of widespread events, the alert system was used some 60,000 times across the country in 2020.

The WEA test will be directed only to cell phones that have opted-in to receive test messages, which will be in either English or Spanish, depending on the device’s language settings. The EAS national test is similar to the monthly tests typically originated by state authorities. During the test, radios and televisions across the country may interrupt normal programming to play the EAS test message. The message may be delivered in English or Spanish.