NO NATIONAL TEST THIS YEAR FOR FEMA’S INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT &
WARNING SYSTEM
[https://www.fema.gov/news-release/20200726/no-national-test-year-femas-integrated-public-alert-warning-system]


Release Date: 
六月 19, 2020 

WASHINGTON – Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) public health
emergency response, FEMA will not conduct a national test of the
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) this year.

FEMA is moving the next national test of the system to 2021 out of
consideration for the unusual circumstances and working conditions for
those in the broadcast and cable industry. Although systems remain in
place for rapid automatic transmission of the test message by
broadcast and cable operators, the follow-on reporting activities
associated with a national test place additional burdens on technical
staff that are already quite busy maintaining as close to normal
operation as possible.

IPAWS is a national system for local alerting that provides
authenticated emergency alert and information messaging to the public
through cell phones and internet applications using Wireless Emergency
Alerts (WEA), and to radio and television via the Emergency Alert
System (EAS). Emergency officials across the country sent more than
360 important safety messages on the COVID-19 pandemic to their
residents via WEA and EAS.

FEMA is required by law to test IPAWS at least every three years. The
national WEA capability was most recently tested in conjunction with
the EAS in 2018.

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*The title of this release was updated on July 1, 2020