Full Notification

A national alert test for both the WEA (Wireless Emergency Alert) and EAS (Emergency Alert System) capabilities will take place on the back up date of Wednesday, October 3rd at 2:18 pm EDT (1:18 pm CDT).  The test was postponed from the original date of Sept 20 due to severe weather and response efforts on the East Coast.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will issue a Nationwide Wireless Emergency Alert testing the Presidential WEA capabilities.  The test message will be available to all compatible cell phones.  Please note, some older cell phones may not receive the test message. 

The WEA test message (on cell phones) will read “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The nationwide WEA test will be followed by a nationwide EAS test approximately two minutes after the WEA is issued.  The EAS test is similar to the monthly test messages that the public is familiar with on broadcast television & radio, cable systems, and satellite radio and television.

The EAS test message (on TV, radio, etc.) will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones nationwide. Some cell phones will receive the message; others will not. No action is required.”

These tests are being conducted by the Federal goverment.  The Village of North Aurora is only passing the information on to our residents to help spread awareness.

What you should know:

• This is a Nationwide test of the same system (Wireless Emergency Alerts or WEA) that pushes public emergency messages like AMBER alerts.
• The WEA system is overseen by FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission.  This is different than a text message and your phone number is not shared with anyone.
• Presidential Alerts are one of the three categories of alerts set by law.  These are only for national emergencies and there is a process in place to draft and send the messages.