Maryland to Participate in a National Test of the Emergency Alert System Today

Minute-long Television and Radio Message to Occur February 24 at 2:20 P.M.

REISTERSTOWN, Md. (February 24, 2016) — Maryland will be one of twenty-two states participating in a national test of the Emergency Alert System today at 2:20 P.M. (Eastern). The messaging and style of the test will be similar to the regular monthly test message of the EAS, but, is being conducted in order to test and assess the readiness for distribution of a national-level message. Residents can expect to hear and see the following on radio and television stations this afternoon: “This is a national test of the Emergency Alert System. This is only a test.”

This test is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to FEMA, “Public safety officials need to be sure that in times of an emergency or disaster they have methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public when needed. Periodic testing of public alert and warning systems is a way to assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine what improvements in technologies need to be made.”

More information on the Public Alert and Warning System and Wireless Emergency Alerts is available at www.fema.gov/ipaws orwww.ready.gov/alerts.

In addition to the national test in which Maryland participated, the State conducted its regularly scheduled monthly test earlier this morning.