Emergency Alert sounds early with US phones 'going crazy' and scaring people
Millions of phones across the US made an alarming noise and buzzed at the same time as authorities tested the emergency alert system. Despite being planned and widely advertised, many were taken by surprise as many reported it arrived two minutes later.
The test alert message also appeared on televisions and on radios. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System sends out messages via the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
The Emergency Alert System is a national public warning system that’s designed to allow the president to speak to the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency via specific outlets such as radio and television. And Wireless Emergency Alerts are short messages — 360 characters or less — that go to mobile phones to alert their owner to important information
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An example of an alert (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)While these types of alerts are frequently used in targeted areas to alert people in the area to things like tornadoes, Wednesday’s test was done across the country. It started at 2.20 pm Eastern Time Wednesday. Wireless phone customers in the United States whose phones were on got the message saying: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
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Customers whose phones are set to the Spanish language got the message in Spanish.
The test was conducted over a 30-minute window and started at 2.20 pm, although mobile phone owners got the message once. If their phones were turned off at 2.20 pm and then turned on in the next 30 minutes, they’ll get the message when they turn their phones back on. If they turn their phones on after the 30 minutes have expired they will not get the message.
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People watching broadcast or cable television or listening to the radio heard a message lasting one minute that says: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14.20 to 14.50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
Federal law requires the systems be tested at least once every three years. The last nationwide test was August 11, 2021.
The test has spurred falsehoods on social media that it’s part of a plot to send a signal to cellphones nationwide in order to activate nanoparticles such as graphene oxide that have been introduced into people’s bodies. Experts and FEMA officials have dismissed those claims but some social media say they’ll shut off their cellphones Wednesday.
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