Be ready for your phone to go nuts!
FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this afternoon.
The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset.
The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions.
Do you want to opt out of the test?? Here’s how!
While these alerts are invaluable for public safety, they can pose risks to survivors who have hidden phones by alerting the abuser that the phone exists. Receiving alerts such as Amber Alerts is a common occurrence for those with a cellphone and is a feature you can turn off through your phone settings for year-round protection from unexpected alerts. However, this upcoming national test is not an alert that can be disabled or turned off within the device. Therefore, survivors should power off their devices during the test and not schedule phone calls on their hidden cellphone during that time.
