The federal government will be conducting a nationwide cellphone, radio, and TV test on Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. EDT, the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned residents this week.
The agency said residents should not be concerned when the alarms go off, and no action will be required. The alarm is expected to last 30 minutes on cellphones and one minute on television and radios. The drill will test FEMA’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
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“The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” FEMA, which is conducting the test with the Federal Communications Commission, said in a statement.
The text message will be free and is expected to read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed,” in either English or Spanish, depending on the person’s language setting on their phone. The test will occur nationwide.
The text will also have a unique tone and include vibration in order to make the alert accessible to the entire nation, including people with disabilities, according to FEMA.
“These tests help to ensure that residents across the country can receive timely messages about emergencies,” Russ Strickland, secretary of the Maryland Department of Emergency Management, said Tuesday. “This is the system that sends the weather warnings and Amber alerts, and it is an important tool to test the effectiveness of the system.”
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Wednesday’s alert will mark the seventh time that the federal government has conducted such a test. The most recent test on the state level went out to Floridians earlier this year by mistake at 4:45 a.m. The test had only been intended to happen on television screens rather than cellphones.
The warnings ahead of the tests this year are intended to cut down on any confusion.
