The Center for Hearing and Communication is helping to spread the word about tomorrow's nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). At 2pm EST the FCC and FEMA will make an announcement on every TV and radio channel. Due to technical limitations, the message may not be accessible via captions or text on all TVs. The FCC’s news release:
ATTENTION: DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE
THERE WILL BE A TV EMERGENCY MESSAGE TEST ON NOVEMBER 9, 2011 AT
2:00 P.M. EST AND IT WILL BE ONLY A TEST!
YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE ANY ACTION!
ONLY A TEST.
On November 9, 2011, at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). At that time, an announcement will come on every TV and radio channel indicating that the emergency alert system has been activated. Although the activation will include an audio message indicating that this is a test, due to technical limitations, a visual message indicating that “this is a test” may not appear on every television channel, especially for cable subscribers. For these reasons, the FCC and FEMA are taking extra steps to educate the public, especially the deaf and hard of hearing, that “This is only a test.” Please do not be alarmed when you see that message. You will not need to take any action.
WHAT IS THE EAS? EAS alerts are sent over the radio or television (broadcast, cable and satellite). State and local emergency managers use these alerts to notify the public about emergencies and weather events, such as tornadoes and hurricanes. The EAS can also be used to send an alert across the United States if there is a national emergency. It is common for state and local EAS tests to occur on a monthly and weekly basis, respectively, but there has never been a test of the nationwide EAS alert on all broadcast, cable and satellite radio and television systems at the same time.
WHY A TEST? The purpose of the test is to assess how well the EAS can alert the public during certain national emergencies. Although the FCC and FEMA are taking steps to ensure that everyone has access to announcements made during the test, some people watching cable television (as well as some others) may receive only an audio (not a visual) notice that this is a test. The FCC and FEMA want to make consumers aware of the test so that they understand that this is only a test and that there is no real emergency. The November 9th test will help ensure that the EAS will work if public safety officials ever need to send an alert or warning to the entire country or to a large region of the United States.
WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT ABOUT THE NOVEMBER 9th EAS TEST? The nationwide EAS test on November 9th may be similar to other EAS tests that you see monthly except that those are localized tests. Such tests include an audio EAS tone and a visual message indicating that “This is a test of the Emergency Alerting System.” The November 9th nationwide EAS test will last a little longer--about 3 minutes. In addition, as explained above, due to technical limitations, a visual message indicating that “this is a test” may not appear on every television channel, especially for cable subscribers. That is why the FCC and FEMA are educating the public, including the deaf and hard of hearing, that this is just a test.
For more information about how this EAS test may affect you, please visit: www.fcc.gov/nationwideEAStest.
