On October 3, 2018, FEMA will be testing the national Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system at 10:18 a.m. and the Emergency Action Notification (EAN) at 10:20 a.m. Alaska time. Please be aware that cell phones will activate as part of this national test.

The WEA test will activate most cell phones. This will be the first time that a nationwide WEA message has been distributed. Cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, cell phones that are switched on and within range of an active cell tower should receive the test message once.

The WEA system is used to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. The national WEA test will use the same special tone and vibration as amber alerts.�

The EAN test will activate the State of Alaska’s Emergency Alert System which distributes emergency notifications through broadcasters. This will be the fourth nation-wide test of the EAN system. The test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and is made available to radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers. The test message will be similar to regular monthly test messages with which the public is familiar.

While this test is not being conducted by the university, we do have our own emergency notification system that includes phone, text and email notifications; Alertus beacons and desktop notifications; Twitter, Facebook, digital signage, and RSS feeds to websites. Upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation threatening the health and safety of students or employees at one or more of our facilities, by law, we must immediately notify the affected campus community. The system can also integrate external notifications from partner agencies including weather notifications, civil emergencies, earthquake or tsunami warnings and other environmental or community-based threats. The level of outreach implemented at any given time depends on the severity of the threat.

More information on the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Wireless Emergency Alerts is available at�www.ready.gov/alerts. You can manage your university emergency notification settings at http://uaalert.alaska.edu/.