Mass panic has been sparked as millions of phones, TVs and radios sounded a warning.
The United States was braced for the alert as Federal Emergency Management Agency tested its National Wireless Emergency Alert System.
FEMA had warned 'seconds count in disasters' as it justifies the nationwide test and people have been urged not to become concerned with an alert on their phones, warning them of impending danger - as it is just a practice run.
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System will send out warnings to people's phones later today as the federal government tests its emergency alert system. Messages will be sent via the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. It will test the system designed to allow the American president to speak to citizens within 10 minutes amid a national emergency. It will begin at 2.20pm Eastern Time later today and will be conducted over a 30-minute window.
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"THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System," the message will read. "No action is needed." Phones will vibrate and make a noise, whose mobile devices in Spanish will receive the notification in Spanish. The test has spurred falsehoods on social media that it's part of a plot to send a signal to cell phones nationwide in order to activate nanoparticles such as graphene oxide that have been introduced into peopleâs bodies. This is not true.
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Americans have mocked the nationwide emergency alert test as it arrived two minutes earlier than planned and caused many to jump in panic.
Referencing the wild conspiracy theories that everyone was about to turn in to zombies from the alert, others lamented they weren't tuned into one of the walking dead.
Read the full story here.
Many were left baffled after not getting the much anticipated message. One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote: "No emergency alert here & now 2:46 EST. a/o else NOT receive it?"
The FCC explained why some might not have received: "To receive a WEA message, your handset must be WEA-capable, switched on, not on "airplane mode," and in the vicinity of and receiving service from a cell tower of a wireless carrier that participates in WEA.
"Some participating carriers may offer WEA on some, but not all, of their mobile devices. Consumers should check with their wireless carriers to find out if their cell phone is WEA-capable."
Many are reporting the emergency alert came through two minutes earlier than expected, taking many by surprise.
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The alert made phones "go crazy" disrupting naps and conference calls across the country.
Read the full story here.
The latest update from FEMA reads: "The nationwide emergency alert test will begin at 2:20 p.m. ET. Wireless providers will transmit the national test for 30 minutes, but your phone should only receive it once."
In 2018 an alert was accidentally issued warning of incoming missile.
Sent via the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones across Hawaii, it told citizens to seek out shelter due to an incoming ballistic missile.
It concluded: "This is not a drill".
But 38 minutes later a second emergency alert was sent, which stated: "There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm."
It was later claimed it was a miscommunication during a drill and the state's emergency management administrator resigned.
Many are asking why the alerts are used.
According to the FCC: "The Wireless Emergency Alerts system is an essential part of America's emergency preparedness.
"Since its launch in 2012, the WEA system has been used more than 84,000 times to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations – all through alerts on compatible cell phones and other mobile devices."
Although todays test is nationwide, WEAs can be targeted to specific areas.
Not all people will receive the WEA test message on their phones. According to the FCC, in order to receive the test message:
With the alert set to cause a loud alarm-like noise emit from most phones, some are left worried this could put domestic abuse victims in a difficult spot.
Town of Hamburg Office of Emergency Services posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying: "Why is this significant? Often individuals in #DomesticAbuse situations have secret phones they use to communicate due to the controlling abusive situations they are in.
"Please spread the word if you are a domestic violence advocate, especially if you know someone in a domestic violence situation. That alert could compromise their only safe means of communication."
The nationwide emergency alert test on cell phones, wireless devices, radios, and TVs will hit phones across the country at the same time.
This is at:
2.20 pm Eastern Time
1.20 pm Central Time
12.20 pm Mountain Time
11.20 am Pacific Time
10.20 am Alaska Time
8.20 am Hawaii Time
Conspiracy theorists and Anti-Vaxxers have taken to social media and Telegram channels, warning the FEMA emergency alert test will activate "sealed pathogens" in Covid vaccines, turning people into zombies.
A post shared by a QAnon influencer in a Telegram channel called 'The Patriot Voice', which is followed by more than 50,000 people, asked: "Is there a zombie apocalypse activated by 5G towers on the way?!?!" Their message cited an apparent military expert's claim that the Covid-19 vaccines contained "sealed pathogens," including E.coli bacteria and the viruses Marburg and Ebola which could be released by an "18 Gigahertz 5G frequency."
Read the full story here.
Conspiracy theorists and Anti-Vaxxers have warned the FEMA emergency alert test will allegedly active "sealed pathogens" administered with the Covid jab, turning people into zombies (AFP via Getty Images)Federal law (S.1180 - Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015) requires the systems be tested at least once every three years.
The last nationwide test was August 11 2021 so todays test is well within schedule.
Two alert systems are being tested - the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).
The WEA portion of the test will send a code to cell phones. It will trigger a message along with a unique tone and vibration.
The test will be conducted over a 30-minute window started at 2:20 pm, although mobile phone owners would only get the message once. If their phones are 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.
Meanwhile, the EAS portion of the test will last approximately one minute and will be played by radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers.
For English speakers, their phones will receive a message that reads: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."
Spanish speakers will receive the following alert: "ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción."
A" unique tone and vibration," will accompany the alert, FEMA said, while messages on the TV will say: "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."
FEMA has said the test is being carried out because "seconds count" during disasters.
Testing the system is normal and occurs every three years, but needs to be done to make sure that if an emergency situation happens in the future then people can be properly informed. "We recognize that in disasters, seconds count," FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said.
"Getting alerts out promptly to our communities saves lives... We want to make sure that when it counts, we can keep you informed."
Fire and smoke filling the sky from wildfires on the intersection at Hokiokio Place and Lahaina Bypass in Maui, Hawaii (AP)The Integrated Public Alert & Warning System was created for emergency situations. It uses mobile phones, radio and TV to alert people to potential dangers.
FEMA says it is a "national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public through mobile phones using Wireless Emergency Alerts."
As a result, "all major U.S. wireless providers participate in Wireless Emergency Alerts and will transmit the national test to their subscribers."
Mobile phones need to be turned on and within rang of an active phone mast.
IPAWS warns people of a looming danger (Reuters)FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell revealed the warning alert is essential during emergencies to help communicate to the public.
The alert will be conducted along with the radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers. People watching, or listening, will see and hear a message lasting a minute.
The message will state: "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.'
"We recognise that in disasters, seconds count," Criswell said in a video posted to YouTube. "Getting alerts out promptly to our communities saves lives." She added, "We want to make sure that when it counts, we can keep you informed."
Emergency alerts are designed to reach as many people as possible. TVs and radios will receive the test alert at the same time.
Joseph Trainor, a core faculty member at the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center, told CBS: "Like any system, there are strengths and weaknesses. How many characters you can use, how much you can transmit, how fast you can get it out. Every system has limits, and that's why we tell people, when we are giving advice about building warning systems, you don't ever want to rely on just one thing."
FEMA said the alert is designed to be "a centralised internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks."
The test is scheduled for today at 2.20pm Eastern time. The testing window is about 30 minutes long but phones should emit an alert once only. In the case of an actual emergency tomorrow, a backup test would be planned for the following week.
For a few moments on Wednesday, every cellphone, radio and television will emit a sound in unison as the federal government conducts a test of its emergency alert system.
It's unclear whether all devices will sound the same alarm but phones will be the only devices to vibrate during the test. The Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission are running the test in case of an actual emergency.
There are claims from the misinformed that the test will send a signal to cell phones nationwide in order to "activate" nanoparticles such as graphene oxide that have been introduced into people’s bodies.
A popular video online claimed particles that wee somehow introduced into the human body will somehow be activated to exert control over the population. This has revived more false theories about the contents of the Covid vaccine.
“The emergency broadcasting system under FEMA is going to be activated,” the woman explains, speaking directly into the camera. “It’s not a test. It’s going to be sending these high frequency signals into cell phones, radios, TVs. The intention of activating nanoparticles, including graphene oxide.”
The claims have been widely debunked both experts. Graphene oxide — a material made by oxidizing graphite — is not an ingredient in the Covid vaccine.
Julia Greer, a materials science professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, branded the theories complete "nonsense."
"You can’t ‘activate’ graphene oxide," she said. "What does that even mean?"
No, the FEMA test won't activate graphene oxide particles (AP)Today's test comes one every three years and the last nationwide test was Aug. 11, 2021. Federal law requires the systems be tested at least once every three years.
While these types of alerts are frequently used in targeted areas to alert people in the area to things like tornadoes, Wednesday's test is being done across the country.
It has led to bizarre alims on social media that the alert is actually a cover to activate nanoparticles in people's bodies. Some have even been encouraged to turn off their phone.
