Westminster, MD, Monday, October 2, 2023 – The Carroll County Department of Public Safety advises the public of two national test emergency alerts taking place on October 4, 2023.  Messages will be sent to all televisions, radios, and cell phones.  

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).  The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The systems provide authenticated emergency alerts and information from emergency officials to warn the public of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters or threats to public safety. The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones and will be received in the form of loud tones and a pop-up message on the device.  The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions and will be similar to regular EAS test messages. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test.

“In an effort to avoid unnecessary alarm, we are informing our citizens now to avoid concern,” said Carroll County Director of Public Safety and Emergency Manager Valerie Hawkins. “It is critical to test these systems periodically to test their effectiveness and also to communicate with the public that these forms of alerts exist.”  

For more information about the tests, please visit: https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230803/fema-and-fcc-plan-nationwide-emergency-alert-test-oct-4-2023.