A nationwide test of emergency messaging systems is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4, at 2:20 p.m. when a bilingual emergency broadcast will go out to anyone within range of an active cell tower, via the Wireless Alerts System (WEA).
The message: This is a test. This is only a test. In the event of an actual emergency …
Ryan Murphy, director of the Town of Southampton Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management, said in a bulletin that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will test the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and the WEA, the latter of which is designed to deliver messaging over cellular networks in the event of “an emergency incident, dangerous condition or disaster.”
The longstanding EAS, formerly the Emergency Broadcast System, delivers that same message over analog gizmos such as radio and television sets.
The test, as Murphy relayed, is so FEMA can “ensure that the systems continue to be an effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level.”
Staff Writer on Oct 3, 2023