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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration will send a message to all US mobile phones on Thursday to test an unused warning system to warn the public of national emergencies.
US President Donald Trump holds Oval Office meeting on hurricane preparations while FEMA Administrator Brock Long outlines potential trajectory of Hurricane Florence on a White House chart in Washington, DC, USA United, September 11, 2018. REUTERS / Leah Millis
The messages will carry the title "Presidential Alert," said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a statement this week. The phones will emit a loud sound and have a special vibration, said FEMA, who will send the alert.
The test message, scheduled for 2:18 pm On Thursday, EDT will read as follows: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is necessary. "
The test was scheduled to ensure that the alert system would work in the event of a national emergency. US cellphone users will not be able to opt out.
Former President Barack Obama signed in 2016 a law asking FEMA to create a system allowing the president to send mobile phone alerts regarding public safety emergencies.
Since its launch in 2012, the Wireless Emergency Alert System has released more than 36,000 alerts for situations such as missing children, extreme weather and natural disasters, but never presidential directive. . Mobile phone users can disable natural disaster alerts or missing children.
FEMA said in a statement that alerts can only be used for national emergencies. The president is solely responsible for determining when national alerts are used.
In the event of widespread weather or other significant event on September 20, the test will be postponed until October 3, FEMA said.
The administration announced in July that it would plan the alert for September. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its role in planning the test alert.
The administration will send a radio and television alert test two minutes after the alert. He will interrupt programming for about a minute, FEMA said.
The cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes starting at 14:18.
The US Federal Communications Commission has approved new rules to ensure that, starting in 2019, alerts are more accurately targeted, with links to photos or other important information.
There have been problems with previous status alerts.
In January, Hawaii issued a false alert about a missile attack that was corrected for 38 minutes after being transmitted to mobile phones and broadcast stations, causing widespread panic across the Pacific Islands.
In April, the FCC attributed this false alarm to human error and inadequate safeguards.
Report by Jason Lange, David Shepardson and David Morgan in Washington; Editing of Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio
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