Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States, on Wednesday, tested two of its national emergency alert systems for the first time since the starting of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two systems that were tested on Wednesday were the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The Emergency Alert System is responsible for delivering emergency broadcast tones messages on multimedia platforms such as television and radios. On the other hand, Wireless Emergency Alerts will broadcast emergency alerts on devices like smartphones which are issued by the government.

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“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed” was the broadcast message that was received by multiple Americans on Wednesday. The test drill, which gave residents of the United States an option to sign up for the service,  commenced around 2:20 pm ET.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States conducted such a trial in 2019. Since then, the federal agency says, that the Wireless Emergency Alert System has improved significantly. The update has allowed the federal agency to include tappable links, like web addresses in the alerts, which have now been designed to be longer and more detailed than its previous versions.

The Emergency Alert System has been operational since the late 1990s, however, with a substantial number of Americans moving towards mobile phones and other mobile devices, the Federal Emergency Management Agency rolled out the Wireless Emergency Alert System. 

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The federal agency also introduced ‘Presidential Alerts’, which have been designed in such a way that no resident of the United States would have the option to opt-out. A Presidential alert can be sent by the one who occupies the White House, according to reports from TechCrunch.

Such tests are conducted every two years by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States to keep the preparedness of the country in check and to ensure the proper functioning of its alert systems.