"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

By Laura Green Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 5:16 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

Posted: 9:33 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011



WASHINGTON — From the television blaring at a West Palm Beach sports bar to the island radio station in American Samoa, broadcast channels across the United States and its territories will take a 30-second break from programming at 2 p.m. Wednesday to run the first national test of the Emergency Alert System.

The broadcast system has been tested on the local and state level thousands of times, but never before have government agencies and broadcasters coordinated to see if there are any gaps in the system that could be used to warn the entire populace in a catastrophic event.

Federal officials envision the alert being employed for a large-scale regional disaster or for a national event, such as a nuclear disaster or attack, a pandemic or "something that's going to affect a lot of people pretty quickly," according to the Federal Communications Commission.

The local broadcasting system runs a test each week and state broadcasters test monthly, said Bill Johnson, director of Palm Beach County's emergency management.

As the hurricane season is ending, this wider-scale test is a good time for local residents to remember that there are other kinds of disasters and they must remain prepared.

"It's a great opportunity for us to encourage our community again, to let everyone know that we are all connected and that we're connected not only in terms of communications but as part of a disaster community," Johnson said.

A nationwide use of the test alert would be an "extremely rare" event, Johnson said. But officials say it could be employed for local events such as a hazardous materials accident affecting homes near Interstate 95 or perhaps a wildfire spreading quickly.

Federal officials have been trying to get word out about the test for months but are still concerned that the some members of the public could mistake it for a genuine emergency alert.

They have been working with organizations supporting the deaf community, for example, to try to ensure that television and cable broadcasters offer a visual cue informing viewers that the interruption is only a test. But not all stations could guarantee they could broadcast a visual explanation, an FCC spokeswoman said.

So just last week, to try to minimize confusion, the government announced that it would scale back its planned three-minute test to just 30 seconds - long enough to diagnose any problems in the system.

Critics have said that such a test does not take advantage of more modern forms of communications, such as the cellphone network or Internet. But the FCC notes those sorts of communication are not always reliable in an emergency. Take the recent earthquake, which interrupted cellular communication in Washington. With a battery-operated radio, any citizen anywhere can receive a broadcast from the Emergency Alert System.

While the FCC has no plans for an online notification system, it is launching a cell notification system in December in New York. The cell program is expected to be available nationwide in mid-2012, according to the FCC.

In the meantime, radio listeners and television viewers should prepare for a 30-second coffee break today.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/tv-and-radio-broadcasts-will-halt-for-the-1957668.html?cxtype=rss_news

Val,
I noticed that they have been running a commercial explaining that this "is just a test", nothing to worry about. The question is "Why now?" The timing of this "test" seems a bit suspicious to me. Maybe it's a test just before the real emergency comes. Never before has there been an emergency broadcast sent to all of the states from the federal government, but we are supposed to think that it's just a normal thing. Keep looking up!

Kevin

Kevin,

You hit the nail on the head so to speak! A live test, before the real emergency happens very soon!

I'm looking up with you dear Brother in Christ!

Soon & very Soon!

Blessings & Love in Jesus,

Valerie