By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-992985.mp3
Dallas, TX – Today radio and television stations across the country will broadcast the first national test of the Emergency Alert System. KERA listeners have heard the system tested before. Shelley Kofler has more about why this test is different.
On KERA 90.1 you hear a random test of the Emergency Alert System, the EAS, every week. It interrupts regular programming. First there's a long pulsing, high-pitched beep. Then you hear the announcer saying, "This is a test of the Emergency Alert System."
The use of the EAS test is controlled by the Federal Communications System which is why we can't just play it for you right now.
In North Texas the EAS is used by local officials to notify the public about civil emergencies like overturned chemical tankers; Amber alerts with information about missing children, tornado warnings for the area.
Today's EAS grew out of a system established in 1951 during the Cold War, and by law it must be available to the President to inform the nation of an immediate danger.
But there's never been such a message sent from the White House, not even after 9-11. In fact the EAS has never been tested nationally.
That's what today's test at 1p.m. Central Time coming from Washington is all about. Earl Armstrong is with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Armstrong: We've never had a nationwide test of the system. We need to make sure all the components are working. We can see what might not be working what might need to be improved.
Ann Arnold is President of the Texas Association of Broadcasters and the EAS chair in Texas. She's advocating national testing for a many years.
Arnold: It is incredible to me we don't have something working to alert the public in an emergency situation.
Arnold predicts this national test will find a lot of gaps, a lot of communities where citizens don't hear emergency alerts. She says the system in Texas makes it difficult for EAS alerts to reach some outlying, rural communities.
Arnold: I hope the problems are reported in such a way people will do something about it.
The thousands of radio and TV stations across the country must report the results of this 30-second test to the Federal Communications Commission, which is then supposed to help strengthen national security by making warnings accessible everywhere.