Emergency Alert System Test Unsuccessful in Oregon

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A first-of-its-kind, nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yielded unfavorable results in some areas of the country, including Oregon and SW Washington where TV and radio stations failed to receive the alert signal.

Though area radio and TV outlets were prepared to receive the alert – and, in fact, nearly all TV stations had prepared customized on-air graphics for the 30-second test­ – it appears crucial gate-keeping equipment designed to relay the test to broadcast partners failed. Engineers are investigating that failure. Click here for more information on FEMA’s national-level reaction to the test: http://blog.fema.gov/2011/11/emergency-alert-system-has-been-tested.html.

It’s important to note the EAS has never been tested on this level but it is tested regularly and successfully on the local level during weekly and monthly tests. The purpose of this nationwide test – as communicated by federal officials – was to learn whether the legacy equipment could be counted on to deliver an emergency message from the President to all TV and radio outlets across the U.S. on short notice. Already planned at the federal level is a multi-year EAS modernization project.

Here at the local level, the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) and its regional partners rely on several ways to communicate emergency information to the public, including through social media, Flash Alert News and our local community notification system which generates email, text and phone messages to populations affected by emergencies. As always, we encourage residents to register for these notifications at www.PublicAlerts.org.  Completely separate and unrelated to today’s national EAS test, we are planning a test of this community notification system in the near future.