FEMA is About to Get Up in Your Phone!

The system test is for a high-level "presidential" alert that would be used only in a nationwide emergency. This week's alert marks the first time the system has been tested nationwide.

The presidential alert can only be activated by the current president, but the reasons for doing so are legally defined. People with their phones on silent still saw the alert message on their screens.

Wednesday's test was originally scheduled for September 20, but was pushed back when Hurricane Florence hit the East Coast.

A second alert on television broadcast and radio went off at 2:20 p.m. EDT.

The beep of the test alert echoed through Times Square, causing some pedestrians to look up in confusion before turning back to their phones and continuing with their day. It is the first test of the emergency system.

Our President now has another way to reach you.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency.

The alert will work in a similar way to systems that allow police and local authorities to send out Amber alerts and weather warnings.

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"Got it!" In Seattle, the test alert arrived in the middle of the GeekWire Summit.

In January, after months of escalating exchanges between Mr Trump and North Korean President Kim Jong Un, the state's emergency personnel sent out an alert message reading, "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII".

"Oh my. A "Presidential Alert" emergency".

As mentioned previously, FEMA constructed the test as a way to see if any improvements to the system are necessary.

For more information, you can check out this FEMA document. Additionally, if a user is on a call, or with an active data session open on their phone, they might not have received the message.

Don't worry: The government didn't just spam you. "No action is required".

She said the warning for that specific tornado came via stormspotters reporting to the National Weather Service, who then saw that the appropriate tornado sirens went off in the area.