Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Conducting a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) Test on Tuesday, September 13th at 3 p.m.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office was selected to participate with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) test at 3 p.m.
Launched in 2012, WEA is a tool for authorized government agencies to reach the American public during times of national emergency. It is also used locally to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. In the event of a local emergency, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office has the capability to send a WEA message within Mecklenburg County. Participating in the WEA test will allow Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management to better understand the effectiveness of this system and ensure that the correct methods and systems are in place to deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public in times of an emergency or disaster. If for some reason the test has to be canceled, the back-up date is Tuesday, September 20th at 3 p.m.
What to Expect: At 3 p.m. today, cell towers within the test area will broadcast the test. At this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages, that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message.
The WEA test message will be conducted in a 0.5 square mile area around Charlotte Fire Headquarters at 500 Dalton Ave, Charlotte, NC 28206 at 3 p.m. today. No action is needed by the public and there is no threat to safety. The test message will contain a link to a survey. Anyone who receives the test message is welcome to fill out the survey, which will provide Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management with additional data. Taking the survey is not a required action of the public.
The message that will appear to those in the test area will read:
TEST. Go to https://www.fcc.gov/wea to provide feedback on your receipt of this test.
The Spanish version of the message will read:
PRUEBA. Vaya a https://www.fcc.gov/wea-es y evalue la recepcion de esta prueba.
Please be aware that there is a potential for phones not within the target test area to receive the message.
For more information about the WEA test, see the FCC’s Waiver Order for Local Wireless Emergency Alert Performance Tests.
Original source can be found here.
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