EAS Test: Don’t Stress; It’s Only a Test
HLAA has been working with FEMA and the FCC regarding an important test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). We have posted an FCC announcement on our home page regarding this test to alert people that the test may not be accessible. If you are watching this 30 second test on broadcast television or satellite or a service provided by your phone company, you should be able to see and hear during the test that it is not an actual emergency. However, if you are watching via cable television, you or may not get a visual message along with an announcement that it’s a test. People watching need to be aware that it is only a test, that there is no need for concern.
We applaud FEMA and the FCC for working hard to get a test out soon so they can determine where the problems are with the system. We know they are working on the issue of visual access. Other problems may arise as well. The more that FEMA and the FCC can learn about the flaws of the system, the more able they will be to make any future alerts fully accessible to all people with hearing loss and solve any problems to ensure that when an emergency does happen, all of us will get the information we need.
HLAA has just learned that a conference call, with captions, has been set up to advise the community about this test. If you are interested in learning more, plan to join the call this afternoon at 4:30 pm ET with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Below is the message HLAA received from FEMA:
DISABILITY COMMUNITY CALL - FIRST NATIONWIDE TEST OF THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
Teleconference Call to Take Place November 7th at 4:30 pm ET Test to Take Place November 9, 2011 at 2 p.m. ET
Dear Colleagues;
Many of you have told us you have passed along the information we sent out last week about the upcoming nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. We thank you for your help. Please remind the communities you serve about this nationwide test, being held Tuesday, November 9th at 2pm ET. Here are more tools and information about the test, all on one page:
http://www.fema.gov/eastestWe're also happy to announce that
FEMA's Administrator Craig Fugate and
Damon Penn, Assistant Administrator, National Continuity Programs Directorate as well as
leadership from the FCC will participate in teleconference call with the disability community on Monday, November 7th at 4:30 pm Eastern. We invite you to participate in this call, find out more about the test, and why the test is an important step towards building a modern, accessible alert and warning system.
To participate in the call:
(800) 320-4330, Participant Code is 247177
To access captioning for this call, click this link:
http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspxEvent ID=1855918
CustomerID=321
Thank you!
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REMINDER:
FEMA wants everyone to know about the upcoming Emergency Alert System (EAS) test and how it may impact them. Please share this message with your communities and through your social networks.
• FEMA’s Emergency Alert System website:
http://www.fema.gov/eastest• FEMA Administrator’s Message – In English
http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/6407 • FEMA Administrator’s Message – In Spanish
http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/6408 As part of our larger efforts to strengthen our nation’s preparedness and resiliency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct the first nation-wide test of the Emergency Alert System on
November 9th, at 2 p.m. ET. The test will occur simultaneously across the United States and the U.S. territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will appear on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems. The test will not involve landline or mobile phones or other infrastructure such as power grids.
Testing the Emergency Alert System plays a key role in evaluating and improving the systems we need in place to ensure our nation is prepared for all hazards and that people within its borders are able to receive critical and vital information through the system, should it ever be needed. It’s important to keep in mind that this is not a pass or fail test of the Emergency Alert System, but an opportunity to improve the system on a national level. Below we have provided a template for both a press release and/or a newsletter that you can use in your organizations to help inform your stakeholders, partners and continuances.
The national Emergency Alert System is an alert and warning system established to enable the President of the United States, if needed, to address the American public during emergencies. It is another critical communications tool that can protect the public and strengthen our nation’s resiliency. The National Weather Service, governors, and state and local authorities also use parts of the system to issue more localized emergency alerts. The test is an important exercise in ensuring that the system is effective in communicating critical information to the public in the event of a real national emergency.
This national test will help federal partners and EAS participants determine the reliability of the system, as well as its effectiveness in notifying the public of emergencies and potential disasters both nationally and regionally. The test will also provide the FCC and FEMA a chance to identify improvements that are needed to build a new, modernized, and fully accessible Emergency Alert System.
To help inform, and support the distribution of this information, FEMA has developed a toolkit of useful information which consists of the following examples and video links with additional information about the test.
If you have questions, please contact us at
FEMA-Disibility-Integration-Coordination@dhs.gov.
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