This is a reminder for our Ithaca College community that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a planned test of the nationwide emergency alert infrastructure on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
The national test will consist of two separate processes:
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) which will be directed to all consumer cell phones. The test message will display in either English or Spanish, depending on the language settings of your wireless device. All wireless phones should receive the message only once, which will read, “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
Emergency Alerts System (EAS) which will be sent to radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers. The test message will state, “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.” The test is scheduled to last approximately one-minute in length.
The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public at-large about emergencies, particularly those on a national level. This is a reminder for our campus community to minimize any potential confusion that could arise from the test.
For more information, please refer to this announcement on the FEMA website.