Don’t be surprised when you cell phone starts beeping today at 2:20 p.m. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is conducting a nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System and Wireleness Emergency alerts. The WEA test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. This is only the second nationwide test involving cell phones.
Phones will receive this message: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions and last approximately one minute.
“The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” according to FEMA.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist who has written hundreds of stories for local newspapers, including the Marblehead Reporter.