GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Emergency Alert System test hit my phone at 2:18 p.m., but it didn't hit my TV until 2:22 p.m. The FEMA information had a timeline of any time between 2:20 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.
While the FEMA test was here and then it was gone, you’ll see and hear it again.
Legislation passed in 2015 requires FEMA to conduct nationwide tests of IPAWS at least once every three years. Before today, the most recent national test was in 2021. You can expect the next test in 2025 or 2026.
IS THE EAS TEST USED TO TRACK YOU OR YOUR DEVICE?
The message you get on your phone, TV, and radio is a broadcast signal. It's just like me being on your living room TV right now. WFMY News 2 is broadcasting a message with sound and video. The signal goes one way.
“All wireless alerts are strictly a one-way push of information. FEMA or any other alerting agency cannot track or access any information on your device or any identifiable information from your device,” said Conor Baker, Operations Manager of Guilford County Emergency Management.
The alert you got today is just like the emergency weather alerts you get on your phone or TV.
It's a broadcast message that goes one way.
HOW IS THE EAS SYSTEM SET UP?
The system Is set up so that federal, state, or local officials can get a message out. they send their message to IPAWS, and the message is validated to make sure it is real.
The alert is then broadcast out by the private sector, your cell phone, and satellite companies, along with government systems like EAS and NOAA radios and such. And then, you get the message.