National EAS test to disrupt broadcasts Wednesday

The nationwide EAS test will preempt television and radio broadcasts Wednesday. (Photo By Paul Morello/WJBC)

BLOOMINGTON – Television and radio broadcasts will be preempted for a few moments on Wednesday.

The Federal Communications Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are conducting the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. McLean County EMA Director Curt Hawk said the test will start at 1 p.m. and last about 30 seconds.

“We’re finally pulling everything together to get a nationwide system set up to where we can put out a message that would go across all venues from television, radio and even satellite radio,” he explained.

FEMA says the radio message will indicate that it’s only a test, but the television message might not.

The EAS is frequently used at a local level to warn the public about weather and other emergencies. It is equipped to broadcast regionally and nationally but has never been activated in that capacity.

Hawk said McLean County has a system independent of the EAS that helps disseminate emergency information to the public. It’s called Nixle.

“It’s designed so we can push a message out to as many people as possible. We can bring a message all the way down to text messaging in the hopes that everyone would be able to catch the message somehow,” he said.

Nixle would also help rebroadcast a message to pagers or message boards at Illinois State University or Illinois Wesleyan.

WJBC expects the first 30 seconds of CBS News at 1 p.m. to be interrupted by the test. Meanwhile, Comcast’s website says if programming doesn’t come back after the test, you should re-boot your cable box.

Paul Morello can be reached at paul@wjbc.com.