Wednesday afternoon, FEMA will be testing its Wireless Emergency Alert. (Graphic Courtesy Of FEMA)

This afternoon the Federal Emergency Management Agency is conducting a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. 

Starting at around 1:20 p.m., cell towers will begin broadcasting an alert to all wireless phones that are powered on and within range at the time.

As stated by FEMA, the alert that will appear on your phones will read, “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The alert might appear in a translated version to those whose phones are set to Spanish as their main language and to accommodate those that have disabilities, the alerts will also have a unique tone and vibration.

At the same time, a similar emergency alert message is scheduled to broadcast to all television and radio programming throughout the United States but again no action is required by the public.

According to CBS News, “FEMA has been required under federal law to test the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System at least once every three years” since 2015.

The importance of these alerts is to test the capabilities and limits of our technology to ensure that the emergency alert system is an effective method in notifying the public of any nationwide emergency that might occur.

In case circumstances arise where the alerts must be postponed, the backup date for the test will be October 11.