National Wireless Emergency Alert Test

FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a national test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. In case of inclement weather, the backup testing date is October 11.

The test will reach millions of mobile phones across the country via Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), radio and television via the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and other communication pathways.

This alert will be activated starting around 1pm CST and will continue alerting for 30 minutes. This means that any cell phone that is on will tone with this emergency alert, even if the phone is silenced or in Do Not Disturb mode.

For more information, please see this post on FEMA's website.