FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has announced the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) scheduled to take place this Thursday, Sept. 20th, has been postponed until Oct. 3rd due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT, on Oct. 3rd. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed. All operational cell phones will receive the test.

Oct. 3 was the previously scheduled back-up date for the test. Officials say a backup date is always planned in case of widespread severe weather or other significant events on the primary test date. FEMA and the nation’s emergency management community remain committed to the life-saving activities occurring through parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.

For further information on the test, go to https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test.