For the first time since the capability was established in the 1950s, TV sets and radios around the country simultaneously aired a message in November 2011 that was transmitted from the White House through a relay system to the American public.
The system did not work flawlessly. In some cases, the test ran too short. In others, it ran too long. In some cases, it was too loud. In other cases, it was not loud enough. In some instances, programming was interrupted but not by the EAS test. (Lady Gaga was heard on some satellite channels.) The alert tones were heard at the same time as the message in some places, and there were other cases in which the test wasn’t heard at all.
Despite the issues, the FCC said the “vast majority” of stations and cable outlets received and relayed the test. The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau placed the number at “about 80 percent” and called the test “incredibly successful.” The bureau’s Greg Cooke was speaking to webinar participants three weeks after the national test. During the webinar, 20 speakers representing various interests, acknowledged glitches but glowed in their evaluation of the test.
Public and private cooperation was clear through extensive publicity about the test. Before the test, some officials were concerned that the public would over-react to hearing the test from the White House on virtually all radio and TV sets simultaneously. To mitigate concern, the test was shortened to 30 seconds from the original plan of three-and-a-half minutes. Pretest outreach efforts were aggressive. Many broadcasters ran public service announcements prior to the test. Plans for the test were covered locally and nationally by the news media. Most state emergency management agencies used their channels to make local public safety officials aware of the test so they could be prepared and alert the local public.
Adrienne Abbott, chair of the Nevada State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC), told the webinar participants that she knew of no public calls of concern about the test to 911 centers in Nevada. Suzanne Goucher, from Maine’s SECC, said she heard reports of more calls to public safety officials regarding the test prior to it being conducted than when it actually occurred. A FEMA official close to the test said he heard more complaints from the public about not hearing the test than from those concerned about it. He said FEMA also received calls from the public expressing appreciation for the test.
As officials and participants declared the first national EAS test a success, they began working on technical glitches. One of the most significant culprits was discovered to be audio looping caused by a conference bridge used to deliver and monitor the test. An incorrect time stamp on the origination equipment also caused problems. Fixes are being applied to both issues. What’s been called “extensive analysis” is being conducted of the post-test reports that EAS participants were required to submit. Officials hope the analysis will identify issues that weren’t immediately obvious.
Attention now turns to the future and other aspects of the nation’s efforts to upgrade alert and warning capability. For example, should there be more national EAS tests and when? Participants in the FEMA webinar were bullish about more tests, even though in many cases it’s their programming that’s being interrupted. Several webinar speakers pointed out that additional tests will be necessary once EAS participants upgrade their equipment to support use of the Common Alerting Protocol. Upgrades are mandatory for EAS participants by June 30.
Other discussion involves engaging more emergency managers and public safety officials in EAS discussions and other efforts to enhance the nation’s alerting system. Ann Arnold of the Texas Association of Broadcasters told Emergency Management magazine that broadcasters “have spent millions to establish, test and operate EAS.” She said that although the EAS doesn’t help broadcasters pay bills, EAS “is in our DNA. We take it very seriously.” Yet, Arnold said some public safety officials in Texas aren’t aware of the EAS.
Goucher said some local emergency managers are “afraid of EAS — afraid they’ll get the message wrong, afraid someone will criticize them” for their use of the alert system. She said the EAS is a “marvelous tool” and emergency managers must overcome their fear of it.
Whit Adamson, president of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, said public safety cooperation with the EAS is improving in his state, but “we need to get more civil authorities involved, particularly since state EAS plans need to be rewritten.”
Goucher said EAS training for local officials is needed. FEMA is developing a training program for local authorities who will use the system being developed under its national alerting initiative, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which includes the EAS. Goucher said the training program will help, but she’d like to see such training part of law. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and is expected to be part of a bill introduced by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the senior Republican on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
In addition to mandating the training program, both the Collins bill in the Senate and the House bill (H.R. 2904) would give IPAWS the force of law rather than only executive order. The IPAWS program was created in 2006 by executive order of President George W. Bush.
Many of the initiatives in the House and Senate bills are already in some stage of development, authorized at the FEMA program level rather than by law. The most fundamental element requires establishment of a system that incorporates multiple technologies for alerts and warnings, including those applicable to people with disabilities.
Other provisions of the bills would:
- establish an IPAWS Advisory Committee of federal, state and local representatives as well as private industry (both bills);
- require periodic national tests of IPAWS (Senate bill);
- include IPAWS in the DHS’ National Exercise Program, including the annual National Level Exercises (Senate bill);
- establish protocols, standards, terminology and procedures (both bills); and
- ensure coordination with the DHS’ new National Terrorism Advisory System (Senate bill).
Both bills are expected to have bipartisan support. Similar legislation was introduced in 2007 and 2009 but died.
IPAWS officials hope that increased visibility of the program’s initiatives will help encourage local officials to become more engaged. Although the November EAS test focused on the ability of the president to send an alert to the nation, new capabilities are being developed for local officials.
- Local activation for the EAS can become easier once the system’s relay equipment is upgraded, which should be completed by mid-2012.
- The first local trials of the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) (also known as PLAN: Personal Localized Alerting Network) occurred in New York City in December. More trials are planned for 2012. CMAS will give local authorities the ability to send messages to mobile devices in targeted areas without requiring the public to sign up to receive the alerts.
- IPAWS training for local officials was launched in December through FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute. Training will be a first step for local officials to be given authority to activate alerts through IPAWS.
- More than 50 companies and organizations are part of an IPAWS program that allows them to adapt their technology to feed alerts into the warning system. Many of the companies already serve local agencies for their alerting needs.
Rick Wimberly is president of the consultancy Galain Solutions Inc.
