National test of cell phone alert system set for Wednesday morning in Alaska.

National test of cell phone alert system set for Wednesday morning in Alaska.
Cellular customers who have enabled emergency alerts in their phone settings should receive the test message.
View a short video on how to configure iPhones and Android here.
A nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System is scheduled for 10:20 a.m.
Wednesday morning, August 11 in Alaska.
In addition to the conventional test messages delivered over television and radio stations — including KCAW — many people will receive the test on their phones, thanks to a relatively new technology called “Wireless Emergency Alerts” — or WEA.
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Whether someone receives a WEA (“wee-ah”) may depend on how new the technology is in their pocket.
Jeremy Zidek is with the state Division of Homeland Security.
“Here in Alaska we do have a lot of these older systems, especially in our smaller communities, that are sufficient for the needs of the population,” he said, “but they don’t have the capability to send the WEA messages.”

WEA does work in Sitka, however, as demonstrated in January of 2018 when many were awakened by a loud tone on their phones, accompanied by an emergency message that arrived prior to any other warning — either on radio, tv, or the community’s tsunami sirens.