The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) will be conducting a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, or EAS, on August 7.
KOAA will be participating in this test, which starts at 2:20 p.m. EDT. and ends at 2:50 p.m.
The EAS is a national public test that gives the President of the United States the communication capability to address the nation during a national emergency. The system could also be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information, like AMBER alerts and emergency weather information for specific areas.
According to FEMA's website, this is the fifth EAS nationwide test. Previous tests were conducted in November 2011, September 2016 and 2017, and October 2018.
The reason for the 2019 EAS is to evaluate the readiness of the national alerting capability if there is no internet connection.
The audio test message will be like a regular monthly EAS test message that says:
"This is a test of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, an official message would have followed the one alert you heard at the start of this message. No action is required."
For more information head to the FCC website or FEMA's website.
