Federal agencies will be sending out a message to all radios, TVs and cellular phones this (Wednesday) afternoon as a test of the nation’s emergency alert systems.
Tracey Bearden, 911 coordinator for the Polk County Emergency Management Agency, explains what will happen if you’re among the hundreds of thousands of cell phone users in Iowa.
“At approximately 1:20, everyone’s going to receive an alert with special tones and vibrations,” Bearden says. “That’s going to be a nationwide test, so it’s going to alert every phone. You can’t opt out of this. It’s going to say, ‘This is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.'”
The same alert will be broadcast on all radios and TVs as FEMA and the FCC test what is hoped to be the best option to quickly notify the public of an emergency.
“I think the takeaway should be that it’s a good drill to make sure that this nationwide system that we use, in the county even, are practice for an actual, real incident,” Bearden says. “If we would have had this system during 9-11, this could have been used.”
Iowans who have an Apple device with iOS 17 software will be able to click on the alert for an additional instruction field. While some of us may be annoyed by the distraction, Bearden hopes they’ll consider the virtues of this unprecedented test.
“You have to plan and you have to practice, and you train as if it’s a real incident,” Bearden says. “So I would take that time, let your phone be on. It’s going to be a very brief moment of inconvenience. Look at that alert. If you have that iPhone/iOS 17, tap on that so that additional information comes up, because this is what would happen in a real life situation.”
There is concern that Iowans who are victims of domestic violence or other abuse might have their “secret” phones go off during this test. Officials recommend they power off their phones if the test will put them in danger until they can be safely turned back on.