COLUMBIA − Victims of domestic violence are being urged to turn off notifications or power off their cell phones before the nationwide emergency alert test on Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct nationwide, dual tests of alert systems at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday for 30 minutes. There is no immediate danger associated with the alerts or action needed to be done by citizens.
Victims of abuse will often keep secret cell phones in case of an emergency. Often times, the abuser has access to and monitors all forms of communication of the abused.
Maggie Franks works at True North, a Columbia agency that provides resources for abused individuals. She said secret phones are often the last line of defense in emergency situations.
“Secret phones can be the only line of communication the abuser is not aware of,” Franks said. “Victims will keep these phones hidden until a situation emerges where they need it.”
When the alert goes off, it will send a loud, blaring noise to cell phones nationwide, which in return could disclose the location of a secret phone.
“Keep it in airplane mode because it’s easy to click it out of airplane mode when you need it,” Franks said. “Or having it powered off is going to be the safest and most sure way to not have an alert go off when you don’t want it to.”
National legislation passed in 2015 requires FEMA to test the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) at least once every three years. Hannah Wichern works with Boone County Office of Emergency Management, and she said these alerts are very important.
“We’ve used this system for Amber Alerts and even a couple months ago in the case of a manhunt [in Boone County], so I highly recommend leaving these alerts enabled,” she said.
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The IPAWS includes the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).
WEA can be consider messages that fall under one of four categories: national alerts, imminent threat alerts, public safety alerts and Amber Alerts. EAS, on the other hand, include all of the same categories with the addition of presidential alerts.
The testing will be similar to that of the one that was last done in 2021 and the Presidential Act test in 2018, with a major difference being that individuals will only be able to opt-out of one of the tests.
“You are welcome to disable and block these alerts from coming in,” Winchern said. “But the government’s responsibility is to protect the people, and that’s what the emergency alerts are for.”
Depending on the language set on a device, the messages will be sent out in either English or Spanish. The messages from the WEA test will be directed as a text message to cell phones, while the EAS test will be sent to radios and televisions.
If an individual has previously opted out of emergency alerts from pinging their phone, they will not receive the WEA alert. The same can not be said for the EAS test.
The WEA test will not interrupt a phone call and will be accompanied by a loud tone according to the FAQ on the FEMA website.
Before the nationwide tests are to commence, the Boone County Office of Emergency Management will conduct its monthly test of the outdoor warning siren system at noon Wednesday.
If severe weather or other significant events occur on that date, the IPAWS testing will be rescheduled to Oct. 11 at the same time.