Before we proceed, we urge you not to panic if the cell phones of you or not only of you but everyone else, alarm at 2.20PM ET today (Wednesday). Yes, your phones as well as everyone’s phones will alarm at the same time. Well, that’s not the end; the Televisions as well as the radio channels also will sound the alarm.

The alarm is a test of the State’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will send the alert to all the registered mobile numbers and also through all televisions and radios to check its efficiency. The test is scheduled to take place in the afternoon of Wednesday by 2.20PM ET to 2:50PM ET across the United States; the Federal government said in its official statement.

“The statement further added that the main aim of the alert test of Oct. 4 is to ensure the effectiveness of the systems in warning the public about emergencies, especially those national level emergencies of utmost importance. The test will jointly be held by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communication Commission.

How will the alert work?

All the cell phones with proper connectivity will receive the alert by around 2:20 pm ET this Wednesday. The alert will be accompanied by a text message which will read “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

As per the authority, the users will receive the free text message in either English or Spanish, depending on the language settings of their devices. The alert will be made accessible to the entire public including those with disabilities. For this, a unique tone and vibration will accompany the text message, FEMA stated.

At the same time, a one-minute emergency alert test will be broadcasted on all radios and televisions. This message will state: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the FEMA covering the US from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”

As the emergency agency stated, no action is required by anyone on receiving the alert message.

Has this happened before?

This is not the first-ever test of the same kind. With the first-ever test of the Emergency Alert System occurring in 2011, as of today, seven such tests of nation-wide emergency alerts have been done by the Federal bodies through TV and radios. This is only the second to be sent to consumer cellular devices and third to be sent through wireless emergency alerts. The latest of the tests took place two years back in 2021.

Any Mess up & Chaos?

The nation-wide emergency alert message has often caused chaos and lots of errors. One of the most ridiculous incidents occurred in 2018 as a Hawaii state emergency management worker accidentally pushed the wrong button in the emergency operation center. He sent out a false warning alert of an incoming ballistic missile threat. The worker was later on fired from the office for the grave error which caused unforeseen chaos across the state.

A similar incident, though as grave as the 2018 Hawaii incident, occurred earlier this year in Florida. A wrong test alert was sent on mobile phones causing people to rise up at early 4.45 a.m. in the early morning. The emergency department later issued an apology message.