On Wednesday, for those with cell phones or tuning in to television, they will witness the display of the message “THIS IS A TEST” as part of a federal government exercise to assess its emergency alert system, employed to notify individuals about urgent situations. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System sends out messages via the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
The Emergency Alert System is a national public warning system that’s designed to allow the president to speak to the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency via specific outlets such as radio and television. And Wireless Emergency Alerts are short messages — 360 characters or less — that go to mobile phones to alert their owner to important information.
While these types of alerts are frequently used in targeted areas to alert people in the area to thing like tornadoes, Wednesday’s test is being done across the country.
The test is slated to start at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday. Wireless phone customers in the United States whose phones are on will get a message saying: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System.
