HQ-18-132 Contact:  FEMA News Desk Phone:  202-646-3272

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

WASHINGTON – FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), postponed the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) until October 3 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence.

The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT.  The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed.

October 3 was the previously scheduled back-up date for the test, which was originally set up for this Thursday, September 20. A backup date is always planned in case of widespread severe weather or other significant events on the primary test date. FEMA and the nation's emergency management community remain committed to the life-saving activities occurring through parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.

For further information on the test, go to https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test.

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Background:  In 2007, FEMA began modernizing the nation's public alert and warning system by integrating new technologies into the existing alert systems.  The new system, known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) became operational in 2011.  Today, IPAWS supports more than 1,000 state, local, tribal, territorial and federal users through a standardized message format.  IPAWS enables public safety alerting authorities such as emergency managers, police, and fire departments to send the same alert and warning message over multiple communication pathways at the same time to citizens in harm's way, helping to save lives.  For more information on FEMA's IPAWS, go to: www.fema.gov/ipaws.  For more preparedness information, go to www.ready.gov.