At 1:18 p.m. central today (October 3rd), you’re going to be getting an emergency alert message on your cell phone from President Trump in a test that’s part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) system to warn the public in cases of national emergencies. It was originally supposed to go out this coming Thursday (September 20th), but was postponed to a new date.
The message will have the header: “Presidential Alert” and say, “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The presidential alert is one of three kinds of alerts in the WEA system, along with notices about extreme weather and AMBER alerts about missing children. The weather notices and AMBER alerts are already used, but this is the first time the presidential message is being tested. The test alert message from President Trump will sound the same as an AMBER alert.
