WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Fayette County residents may notice a brief interruption to television and radio programming next week as part of a nationwide test of the federal Emergency Alert System.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct the test at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Nov. 17, the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency said in a Facebook post. Federal law requires FEMA to test the system every three years, the agency said.
The test will run through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, known as IPAWS, which delivers alerts to television and radio stations across the country. Wireless emergency alerts sent directly to cellphones will not be part of this particular test, according to the agency.
The Emergency Alert System allows the president and other federal, state and local officials to reach the public quickly during emergencies by interrupting regular broadcasts. FEMA and the Federal Communications Commission periodically test the system to confirm that stations nationwide can properly receive and retransmit the alert signal.
The Fayette County Emergency Management Agency, based on East Street in Washington Court House, operates under Ohio law requiring every county to maintain an emergency management program aimed at reducing the impact of disasters and supporting community recovery. The agency is overseen by a board that includes representatives from the county’s townships, municipal mayors, county officials and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, and it coordinates with local fire, police and emergency responders on disaster planning and response across the county.
The agency pointed residents to FEMA’s website, fema.gov, for more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the test.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.
