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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you Mario as this is pertinent info and it would be really troubling if you were in a crowded area like a zoo, restaurant and everyone’s went off</p><p class=MsoNormal>To avoid a panic situation</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <span style='color:#191919'>Keep smiling,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'>Janie Degenshein<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'>President of Senior and Technology Divisions NFBNJ<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'>Remember… the best things in life aren’t things!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'><a href="mailto:jdegen16@comcast.net"><span style='color:#000019'>jdegen16@comcast.net</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#191919'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='border:none;padding:0in'><b>From: </b><a href="mailto:njtechdiv@nfbnet.org">Mario Brusco via NJTechDiv</a><br><b>Sent: </b>Tuesday, October 3, 2023 11:05 AM<br><b>To: </b><a href="mailto:njtechdiv@nfbnet.org">njtechdiv@nfbnet.org</a><br><b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:mrb620@hotmail.com">Mario Brusco</a><br><b>Subject: </b>[NJTechDiv] An emergency alert test will sound Oct. 4 on all U.S.cellphones, TV's and radios</p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emergency-alert-test-october-4-2023-fema-fcc-cellphones-tvs-radios/ </p><p class=MsoNormal><https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emergency-alert-test-october-4-2023-fema-fcc-cellphones-tvs-radios/></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>An emergency alert test will sound Oct. 4 on all U.S. cellphones, TV's </p><p class=MsoNormal>and radios. Here's what to expect.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By Emily Mae Czachor, October 2, 2023 / 2:30 PM / CBS News.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Your electronic devices may alarm you on Wednesday afternoon — but </p><p class=MsoNormal>there's a reason for that.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A nationwide test of the federal emergency alert system will be </p><p class=MsoNormal>broadcast at approximately 2:20 p.m. EDT to cellphones, televisions and </p><p class=MsoNormal>radios across the United States at around the same time.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Most Americans with wireless cellular devices will receive an emergency </p><p class=MsoNormal>alert message on their phones, as will most whose televisions or radios </p><p class=MsoNormal>are on when the test occurs.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>What is an emergency alert?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct Wednesday's test in </p><p class=MsoNormal>coordination with the Federal Communications Commission. Emergency alert </p><p class=MsoNormal>messages that make up the test are divided into two groups — the </p><p class=MsoNormal>Emergency Alert System (EAS) for radios and televisions, and the </p><p class=MsoNormal>Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) for wireless phones — although both are </p><p class=MsoNormal>scheduled to happen at once.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Wednesday will mark the seventh nationwide test of the Emergency Alert </p><p class=MsoNormal>System. Six previous tests were conducted over the years between </p><p class=MsoNormal>November 2011 and August 2021. This will be the third nationwide test of </p><p class=MsoNormal>wireless alerts, and the second nationwide test transmitted to all </p><p class=MsoNormal>cellphones, FEMA said in a statement.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As the Wireless Emergency Alert test is sent out to phones, the </p><p class=MsoNormal>Emergency Alert System test will be sent out to televisions and radios.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"With the combination, you're going to catch a wide swath of people," </p><p class=MsoNormal>said Joseph Trainor, a core faculty member at the University of </p><p class=MsoNormal>Delaware's Disaster Research Center, who studies the design of disaster </p><p class=MsoNormal>warning systems and how they operate, with a particular focus on mobile </p><p class=MsoNormal>warning systems and smart warning systems. Trainor has worked with </p><p class=MsoNormal>government agencies before, in the U.S. and abroad, to develop their </p><p class=MsoNormal>emergency warning systems and procedures.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"We know that they are effective systems," Trainor told CBS News. "Like </p><p class=MsoNormal>any system, there are strengths and weaknesses. How many characters you </p><p class=MsoNormal>can use, how much you can transmit, how fast you can get it out. Every </p><p class=MsoNormal>system has limits, and that's why we tell people, when we are giving </p><p class=MsoNormal>advice about building warning systems, you don't ever want to rely on </p><p class=MsoNormal>just one thing."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>How is the wireless test going to work?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The wireless portion of the test will be launched through FEMA's </p><p class=MsoNormal>Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, which the agency describes </p><p class=MsoNormal>as "a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that </p><p class=MsoNormal>enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the </p><p class=MsoNormal>public through multiple communications networks." It will be </p><p class=MsoNormal>administered using a code sent to cellphones, according to FEMA.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Wireless alerts are created by authorized federal, state, local, tribal </p><p class=MsoNormal>and territorial government agencies, and sent to participating wireless </p><p class=MsoNormal>providers through FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, a </p><p class=MsoNormal>platform that unifies national alert systems for a range of mediums and </p><p class=MsoNormal>allows officials to send authenticated emergency messages quickly to the </p><p class=MsoNormal>public through multiple communications networks, including television, </p><p class=MsoNormal>phone and radio.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Wireless providers that participate in the integrated public system then </p><p class=MsoNormal>dispatch alerts from cell towers to compatible phones in geo-targeted areas.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"The idea is that all of these systems are trying to work together to </p><p class=MsoNormal>get information out, in as many ways as possible, to the right people," </p><p class=MsoNormal>Trainor told CBS News. "So that folks have the information to make good </p><p class=MsoNormal>choices about the risks around them."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Trainor noted that research into wireless alerts, like texts, show they </p><p class=MsoNormal>tend to be "very good at getting people's attention."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"When your cellphone makes a noise, you look," he said.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>FEMA says no personal data is collected from anyone's devices in the </p><p class=MsoNormal>process.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>How long is the wireless emergency alert test?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Cell towers will broadcast the emergency alert test for 30 minutes, </p><p class=MsoNormal>starting at approximately 2:20 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, but each phone </p><p class=MsoNormal>should only receive it once.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>During that half-hour, wireless phones that are turned on, not in </p><p class=MsoNormal>"airplane mode," and compatible with the alerts should receive a test </p><p class=MsoNormal>message, as long as they are located within a certain range of an active </p><p class=MsoNormal>cell tower and their wireless provider participates, FEMA said. All </p><p class=MsoNormal>major wireless providers participate in FEMA's wireless alert system. </p><p class=MsoNormal>Some older devices may not be compatible.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>FEMA notes that if you're on a phone call at the time of the alert, the </p><p class=MsoNormal>message and tone will be delayed until you hang up.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>People who receive the test alert on their phones will see a message </p><p class=MsoNormal>that reads: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert </p><p class=MsoNormal>System. No action is needed."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The alert will be translated automatically when it appears on cellphones </p><p class=MsoNormal>where ose language settings are set to Spanish. That message will read: </p><p class=MsoNormal>"ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se </p><p class=MsoNormal>necesita acción."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>To make the wireless test more accessible for people with disabilities, </p><p class=MsoNormal>alerts are "accompanied by a unique tone and vibration," according to FEMA.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Is it possible to opt out of the wireless test?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>People can elect not to receive certain emergency alert messages to </p><p class=MsoNormal>their cellphones from local authorities, or in some instances, simply </p><p class=MsoNormal>decide whether to subscribe or not to a specific set of emergency alerts </p><p class=MsoNormal>put out by a particular agency. On the other hand, it is not possible to </p><p class=MsoNormal>opt out of the upcoming test of the national wireless alert system.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"Part of the reason why the system works the way it does, is that a </p><p class=MsoNormal>cellphone has the ability to pick up broadcast signals," Trainor said. </p><p class=MsoNormal>He noted that the integrated public alert system relies on broadcast </p><p class=MsoNormal>technology that transfers information about emergencies to cell phone </p><p class=MsoNormal>towers, and each of those towers then beams the information out to </p><p class=MsoNormal>whichever wireless devices are geographically within its reach.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>FEMA's upcoming test recently sparked a wave of conspiracy </p><p class=MsoNormal>theories online, which are not based on reality and misrepresent how the </p><p class=MsoNormal>technology works.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>How will the test work for TVs and radios?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Emergency Alert System test is scheduled to launch at the same time </p><p class=MsoNormal>as the wireless portion, but will only last for one minute.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>When it launches, the test will interrupt regular television and radio </p><p class=MsoNormal>programming, regardless of which channel you're watching or which </p><p class=MsoNormal>station you're tuned into, to broadcast a message that says: "This is a </p><p class=MsoNormal>nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal </p><p class=MsoNormal>Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to </p><p class=MsoNormal>14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The upcoming test of the Emergency Alert System "will be similar to the </p><p class=MsoNormal>regular, monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar," </p><p class=MsoNormal>said FEMA.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Why is the alert system being tested?</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Since 2015, FEMA has been required under federal law to test the </p><p class=MsoNormal>Integrated Public Alert and Warning System at least once every three </p><p class=MsoNormal>years, and those tests can involve the Emergency Alert System, wireless </p><p class=MsoNormal>alert system, and other alerts and warnings.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Wednesday's test will evaluate the technological capabilities of the </p><p class=MsoNormal>national alert system to reach and inform as many people as possible in </p><p class=MsoNormal>case of a widespread emergency. A backup date of Wednesday, Oct. 11, </p><p class=MsoNormal>will become the test date if other emergencies, like extreme weather, </p><p class=MsoNormal>prevent it from going forward as planned on Oct. 4.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"If at some point the time comes that we need to put a wireless </p><p class=MsoNormal>emergency alert to the entire nation, for some really serious, </p><p class=MsoNormal>catastrophic event, the ability to send out messages in little places, </p><p class=MsoNormal>smaller counties, smaller geographic areas, is not the same as having </p><p class=MsoNormal>the capacity to distribute those messages across the entire system," </p><p class=MsoNormal>Trainor explained. "So, one of the reasons that you might do something </p><p class=MsoNormal>like this is to test the technological limits of the system, to make </p><p class=MsoNormal>sure that it's available in that way."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The test could also help raise public awareness about what to do in a </p><p class=MsoNormal>national emergency, similar to the ways in which running a fire drill </p><p class=MsoNormal>inside an office building or a school helps familiarize people with the </p><p class=MsoNormal>process of an evacuation.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"When an alert comes in like this, it makes people ask, 'What is this? </p><p class=MsoNormal>What am I doing here?'" Trainor said. "And there's a natural process for </p><p class=MsoNormal>people when it comes to warnings, we sometimes call it milling, where </p><p class=MsoNormal>they have to kind of process it, and make sense of what's going on, and </p><p class=MsoNormal>decide if they're going to do something. You know, 'What is this thing? </p><p class=MsoNormal>Is it real?'"</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Exposure to emergency alert tests may prepare people to act quickly in </p><p class=MsoNormal>the event of a real emergency, he added.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"Warning systems and alert systems, they get you started," Trainor </p><p class=MsoNormal>continued. "But there's a human decision process and, if it's the first </p><p class=MsoNormal>time you've ever seen one in a real event, it's going to take you longer </p><p class=MsoNormal>to make sense of what it is, and get the information you need, and </p><p class=MsoNormal>process it to be able to make decisions."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>NJTechDiv mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>NJTechDiv@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/njtechdiv_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NJTechDiv:</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/njtechdiv_nfbnet.org/jdegen16%40comcast.net</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>