6:00am | Today at 11am PST (2pm EST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with its satellite agencies, will enact its nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). Lasting for approximately 3- seconds, the test will effectively interrupt television and radio broadcasting.
Do not be alerted: it is simply a test.
The nationwide EAS test will be conducted jointly by the DHS through its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS), the three federal agencies that have EAS management responsibilities. FEMA is the arm of the DHS primarily responsible for developing national alert and warning functions.
For more information, please visit http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-alert-system-nationwide-test.