Nationwide Emergency Alert System Being Tested On Wednesday

TV viewers and radio listeners will witness a shared moment on Wednesday November 9th when the National Emergency Alert System is tested for the first time.

The Emergency Alert System has been used locally for decades by providing listeners and viewers with weather alerts and other issues of immediate purpose however the new system marks the first time that a national message will be sent.

The new system will be tested at 2pm Eastern time and is expected to last approximately 30 seconds.

FEMA chief Craig Fugate tells ABC News:

“Because of the system design, not all of you will see the crawl that says this is a test,” while he adds, “It will say this is an emergency alert. But we want you to understand this is a test.”

The system is being tested by Homeland Security and the FCC and is meant to determine if the system works as planned and to ensure that non-native English speaking listeners understand the purpose of the message.

Here’s the official FEMA video that explains the new National EAS:

What type of messages do you think the new national emergency broadcast system should deliver?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]