A fraction of a second can be a defining moment in a missing person’s case. Hence, a prompt amber alert can be a very crucial link to save a life.
At the same time, natural calamities, state emergencies, mass evacuations, and rescue operations require a robust communication system between people and the authorities.
The Hawaii wildfires were a testament to how a system can fall apart due to a flawed communication system. People were stranded on islands while susceptible to hazardous smoke, lack of basic supplies, and insufficient arrangements for evacuation.
Amidst the chaos, rumors surfaced that the FEMA deputy administrator ordered restricting necessary supplies to the public and pulled out the deployed forces. Such misinformation only solidifies the need for transparency between the authorities and citizens.
A testing protocol is set in motion to ensure that the communication system does not falter during dire situations.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in association with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has organized a nationwide emergency alert test on October 4, 2023, scheduled for 2:20 p.m. Eastern time. An alert message will be sent to mobiles and broadcast on radio and TV as well. The test will last 30 minutes and requires no prior registration from anyone.
However, some netizens speculate that such tests on an extensive scale can yield harmful health hazards to people.
What Time Will the Emergency Alert Test Happen?
The emergency alert test will begin around 2:20 p.m. Eastern time today, October 4, 2023. You don’t have to register yourself for the test. Beware of the scammers who could ask for your personal details, pretending to be officials.
An alert message will be sent to your cellphone–
“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
As the message suggests, you don’t need to do anything during the test. At the same time, a message will be broadcast on TV and radio stating–
“This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
What Is the Test on October 4 For?
FEMA will be conducting the alert test on October 4 to ensure that the emergency messages are reached promptly to the masses.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System Alerts (EAS) are set in motion only when authorized by the authority. These messages are issued to a particular region or nationwide, including the following scenarios–
- Safety alerts for a large group of people.
- Amber alert during child-abduction cases.
- Presidential alerts during National Emergencies.
- Disaster alerts from the National Weather Service during natural calamities and extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes, storms, smoky hazes due to wildfires, low AQI alerts, and more.
- Implementing urgent protocols during active shooting cases.
- Blue Alerts are sent when police officers’ lives are in jeopardy.
There could be more such man-made emergencies that require timely alerts to avoid escalation. Moreover, wireless alerts can be transmitted easily without causing network congestion.
The test on October 4, 2023, will be the seventh time a nationwide EAS test is conducted and the second test for checking the efficiency of cellular devices.
Emergency Alert Test Controversy Explained
A nationwide emergency alert test also sent waves of speculation amongst netizens (no pun intended). Several conspiracy theories surfaced online that imply that a collective test on such a large scale may pose an imminent threat to health.
Social media was flooded with a variety of possibilities that the test could turn into a threat. Another YouTuber, Offgrid Secrets, elaborated on how the radiation will affect the people. Click here to read for more details on conspiracy theories.
“I’m no scientist but I don’t know the effect of having multiple of millions of people up to four hundreds and millions of people having their phones ringing at the same time over a 30-minute period. I don’t know what that will do… there have been studies that show mobile phone and Wi-Fi radiation can affect them [insects] and disturb their circadian rhythms and immune system function. So, it could be catastrophic trying to use everyone’s phone at the exact same time for not only human health potentially but insects, birds, bees things like that so that’s my prediction.”
What is your take on these tests? Do you believe that they will cause health issues? Are any of the theories scientifically plausible?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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