Here’s Why You Received A Nationwide Alert From FEMA
Image via WA Emergency Management
If you received an emergency alert on your smartphone, don’t fret. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was just running a nationwide test for the first time since COVID-19 hit.
The agency tested two systems: the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which broadcasts a message on televisions and radios; and the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), which sends the notification directly to your smartphone.
This is the first time FEMA has tested the WEA for smartphone users who opted in. The message, which was sent out at 2:20pm ET, read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
For the first time ever, FEMA also sent the same notification in Spanish to smartphones that had the language as their default setting. Additionally, the agency said it had improved WEA to be able to send longer, more detailed messages to smartphones nationwide. The new update has also allowed it to include links, such as web addresses.
According to TechCrunch, despite the simple message that smartphone users all over the US received, testing the system isn’t an easy task. There are many technological hurdles when it comes to alerting hundreds of millions of people at the same time, which also requires the agency to work closely with carriers and broadcast networks.
Overall, the WEA system was designed for local and state authorities to notify Americans of potential public safety threats, severe weather, or incidents such as missing children.
FEMA had also rolled out “presidential alerts,” which are messages that will be sent to every phone in the US in the event of a national emergency. Unlike other notifications, “presidential alerts” are issued by the president, and can’t be opted out of.
If you didn’t receive a message, it’s possible you’ve yet to opt-in to the system. For step-by-step instructions on how to sign up for the WEA, head here.
Did you get the Wireless Emergency Alert System test? There is a survey available for you to fill out now! If you opted in and didn’t get it, @FCC & @fema want to know that, too!
— WA Emergency Management (@waEMD) August 11, 2021
Remember, this is a test you had to OPT INTO getting. https://t.co/IcnXBrQc9o pic.twitter.com/VFglQxlA0C
[via TechCrunch, cover image via WA Emergency Management]
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