First nationwide EAS test to be conducted next week

Published 6:30 am Saturday, November 5, 2011

    On November 9, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct the first national test of the Nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test.

    This test will kick off at 1 p.m. (CST). The test will be nationwide, running concurrently across all time zones.

    This system test is the first of its kind, says Brad Smith, State Deputy Fire Coordinator, Jackson. Smith says the alert system is designed to broadcast a nationwide message to the American public.

    “Nothing like it has been conducted in the history of the country,” says Smith. “There have been tests in the past but none to all parts of the nation at the same time.”

    Smith says the emergency broadcasts in the past have been generated on the state level and normally might relate to weather occurrences. Smith says this national emergency system would relate more to the nation’s security or a broader emergency such as a nuclear power facility disaster that would affect an entire region of the country.

    “A September 11 type event comes to mind as a time when this emergency message would be broadcast across the nation at the same time,” Smith says.

    The test will run concurrently on all radio and TV bands and the message will run for three minutes. Smith says most messages in the past were anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute.

    “There is great concern in local police and emergency management circles about undue public anxiety over this test,” Smith says. “The test message on TV might not indicate that it is just a test. Fear is that the lack of an explanation message might create panic. But this is only a test.”

    There are two websites, that will provide more information regarding this test, http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm and https://nationaldialogue-emergencyalertsystem.ideascale.com/.