WSU Vancouver Emergency Alert Test 11/9/11 at 10:30 AM

The Washington State University Vancouver campus will conduct a test of its emergency communication system at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011.

Thirty minutes later, a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System will be launched via radio, television and other media formats.

The two tests will be conducted separately.

Nationwide test

The national Emergency Alert System is a media communication-based alerting system that is designed to transmit warnings to the American public. The test will begin at 11am on Wednesday, and marks the first time a nationwide test of this system has ever been done.

Participating in the test are the Federal Communications Commission, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Weather Service, as well as all related local, regional and state agencies.

Why the nationwide test?

The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS. Participants in EAS currently conduct in-state level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken.

A potential concern regarding this national test is a possibility that some EAS systems may not send a complete message. We are advised that some systems may NOT include the written text message that the test occurring at 11:00 AM is a TEST. The voice message accompanying the test WILL state “This is a test”.

The FCC and FEMA will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate," according to the FCC.