Don't Worry! It's Just a Test

We've all felt that chill when the warning beep suddenly interrupts what we're watching on TV or listening to on the radio. Even when it's immediately followed by "This is a test," you can't help but wonder about the situation sometime in the future when it may not be a test.

If you hear that warning come over the airwaives at 11 a.m. Wednesday, you can trust that it is indeed a test. It will be the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. Livermore residents, like everyone else around the country, will lose TV and radio service for a few minutes during the test.

This test will occur at 11 a.m. PST Wednesday (2 p.m. EST) and will take place simultaneously across the United States and its territories, lasting up to three-and-a-half minutes.

Wednesday's test will look and sound similar to the local tests of the Emergency Alert System.

Although the public alert mechanism is decades old and often tested and used at the local level, it has never before been tested on a nationwide scale. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission will use the results of this test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS on the national level.

The alert will go out across broadcast television, satellite and digital radio, cable and digital television and wireline video.