LOS ANGELES -- "This is a test. This is only a test."
Millions of Americans heard that warning at 11:00 a.m. PT Wednesday.
It marked the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System that would enable the president to address the public within 10 minutes from any location at any time.
The decades-old warning system is often tested locally, but it's never been tested on every radio and TV station in the country at the same time, according to FEMA.
Wednesday's 30-second test, looked and sounded like the familiar local tests.
Some 30,000 radio and TV operations participated in the test.
Federal officials considered a three-minute test but decided on 30 seconds "to reduce any potential disruptions to the American people, while still maintaining our ability to test the system's nationwide capabilities," said FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen.
The Federal Communications Commission has moved to extend the emergency alert system to cellphones, beginning in the New York area by the end of the year and reaching the rest of the country by next spring.
Millions of Americans heard that warning at 11:00 a.m. PT Wednesday.
It marked the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System that would enable the president to address the public within 10 minutes from any location at any time.
The decades-old warning system is often tested locally, but it's never been tested on every radio and TV station in the country at the same time, according to FEMA.
Wednesday's 30-second test, looked and sounded like the familiar local tests.
Some 30,000 radio and TV operations participated in the test.
Federal officials considered a three-minute test but decided on 30 seconds "to reduce any potential disruptions to the American people, while still maintaining our ability to test the system's nationwide capabilities," said FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen.
The Federal Communications Commission has moved to extend the emergency alert system to cellphones, beginning in the New York area by the end of the year and reaching the rest of the country by next spring.
