FEMA and FCC plan nationwide Emergency Alert System test for early October: What to know

Bryan Schuerman, Meteorologist

In the event of any emergency, the Emergency Alert System is used to communicate critical information to the public in a short amount of time, normally this is used for severe weather situations, Amber Alerts and public safety notifications.

Now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are planning another nationwide Emergency Alert System Test for October 2023.

The Emergency Alert System, which was formerly known as the Emergency Broadcast System was established to provide the President of the United States with an expeditious method of communicating with the American public in the event of war, threat of war, or grave national crisis. The Emergency Broadcast System replaced the CONELRAD system on August 5th, 1963. In later years, it was expanded for use during peacetime emergencies at the state and local levels.

Although this system has never been used for a real national emergency, it has been activated more than 20,000 times between 1976 and 1996 to broadcast civil emergency messages and severe weather watches, warning and other hazards.

The National Level (or Presidential Level) test will be done in two different parts, testing the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) capabilities. The test will be held on Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 at approximately 2:20 p.m. EDT.

Here’s how the two different parts of the test breakdown:

FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers along with other stakeholders in preparation for this national level test to help minimize the confusion and to maximize the value of the upcoming test.

The purpose of this test is to make sure that the system continues to be an effective means to alert the public about emergencies, especially those that originate on a national level. If severe weather or other significant events do occur and the test is postponed, the back-up date for the test is the following week, Wednesday, October 11th, 2023.

The following can be expected from the nationwide WEA test:

Wireless Emergency Alerts are created and sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies through IPAWS to participating wireless providers, which deliver the alerts to compatible devices in geo-targeted areas. This is to help ensure that these alerts are accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration.

The following can be expected from the nationwide EAS test: