Another Good Reason To Stop Watching Television

If you remember fondly those days of yore when the Emergency Broadcast System was tested back during the Cold War, your government has heard you:

The national Emergency Alert System is an alert and warning system that can be activated by the President, if needed, to provide information to the American public during emergencies. NOAA’s National Weather Service, governors, and state and local emergency 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. It is a critical communications tool that can provide alerts, warning and information rapidly across multiple television and radio platforms.

Our top priority is to make sure that all members of the public know that this test is coming up – and that it is just a test. For most of us, this test will look and sound very similar to the local tests of the Emergency Alert System that we often see on TV or hear on the radio.

Help Us Spread the Word – On November 9, “This is Just a Test”

At about 2PM EST Wednesday, November 9, our televisions and radios will stop doing whatever they were doing, and do something else. What will it look and sound like if it's working correctly? Well, I'm not sure, and that's not because I neglected to read the description:

What will people hear and see during the test?

On November 9, the public will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same for both radio and television. However, the image on the screen and the text/crawl at the top of television screen may not be the same for all viewers. When the EAS test is over, regular programming will resume.

Announcing First Nationwide EAS Test

There you are then. You've been warned. Now carry on.