UPDATE: FEMA has postponed the IPAWS test. 

Due to severe weather across much of the East Coast and ongoing response efforts, the national emergency alert test has been postponed to the backup date of Oct. 3, 2018 at 2:18 PM EDT.

 https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test

On September 20, 2018 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) which includes the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) System.

This test will send a message to all WEA–enabled cell phones that are turned on, in range of a cell tower, and whose wireless carrier participates in WEA. The message will read, "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed."  They will also send a test over the traditional broadcast media EAS system.

The test is scheduled to begin at 1:18 pm and will last about 30 minutes as the message goes out to the wireless network. FEMA indicates that not every cellphone will receive the message, but the message would only be received once.

This test is designed, like our monthly Outdoor Warning System tests, to determine operational strength and where gaps might lie that need to be addressed. This system is designed to alert residents in times of emergency, such as dangerous weather, missing children, or other critical incidents.  This is a yearly test.

This test is not optional. If circumstances are such that the test needs to be postponed, a backup date is set for Wednesday, October 3, 2018. To find out more about  warning systems, go to our Warnings Tab - https://dallascityhall.com/departments/officeemergencymanagement/Pages/Warnings.aspx.