On August 3, 2023, the FCC released a Public Notice to announce that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the FCC, will conduct nationwide tests of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The tests are scheduled for October 4, 2023, at approximately 2:20 pm EDT, with a back-up test date of October 11, 2023.
The alerts must comply with the FCC’s accessibility requirements.
Link to Public Notice:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fema-and-fcc-plan-nationwide-emergency-alert-test-oct-4-2023
For more information about EAS, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-alert-system#block-menu-block-4. To learn more about the Commission’s accessibility requirements for EAS, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/eas-faq-accessibility. To learn more about WEA, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/wireless-emergency-alerts-wea, and https://www.fcc.gov/wea-accessibility. For more information about the 2023 test, please contact Austin Randazzo, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-1462 or Austin.Randazzo@fcc.gov. Individuals who are fluent in ASL may call the ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432‐2275 (videophone).