(Juneau) Officials with Dodge County’s Emergency Management are reminding the public of a nationwide emergency alert Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct the test at approximately 1:20pm.
Dodge County Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher says the FCC test is an important drill to allow for FEMA and local public safety agencies to analyze and further improve messaging capabilities during a large event, where immediate messages are essential for the health and safety of residents.
Federal rules require all EAS members to participate in testing. This includes radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers.
The test will verify the delivery and broadcast of the message, assess the operational readiness to distribute the message, and determine any improvements that are needed. The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) portion of the test will be disseminated by wireless providers that have chosen to participate in WEA.
Cell towers will broadcast the test message for 30-minutes. Members of the public will be able to receive the message if their phone is WEA-capable, switched on and within range of an active cell tower, and their wireless carrier participates in WEA.
