Nationwide Emergency Alert System Test Scheduled for September 28, 2016

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in collaboration with the FCC, will conduct a nationwide test of the emergency alert system (EAS) September 28^th at 1420 hrs (2:20 P/M) EST. A secondary test date is scheduled for October 05 if necessary.

EAS participants must be prepared – and are required – to participate in a test on both the primary and alternate test dates. The test is the second nationwide test of the EAS following the first nationwide test in 2011.

The nationwide test will assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS, with a particular emphasis on testing FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), the integrated gateway through which common alerting protocol (CAP)-based EAS alerts are disseminated to EAS participants. The test message will clearly state that the alert is only a test of the EAS. FEMA’s alert will be transmitted in English and Spanish and include both audio and the text of the test message, which can be used to populate an accessible video crawl.

These improvements will help ensure all members of the public, including non-English speakers and individuals with disabilities, will receive emergency information, an FCC public notice said. The test will provide an opportunity to evaluate this and other measures that the FCC has adopted to address issues identified in connection with the 2011 nationwide EAS test.