FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023. Messages Will be Sent to All TVs, Radios and Cell Phones

Technology@lemmy.world – 104 points – 1 years ago

FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023. Messages Will be Sent to All TVs, Radios and Cell Phones::FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) this fall.

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Unpopular take: I disabled emergency alerts on my device.

If I was in Japan or some other country where natural disasters are expected, there is a clear benefit to a mobile EAS.

But why exactly are governments starting to show an interest in EAS systems, in places where they seem to not be necessary or needed?

Well, one reason is that they’ve been utilized for Amber Alerts. Granted a lot of cities/states haven’t been able to figure out how to practically scope the announcements, but they are helpful.

Another is the ever-changing climate. My region (Southern New England) rarely ever gets tornados. We had three a few weeks ago. One was in my hometown, and another was a couple of blocks from my bosses house. So while you may not be “prone” to natural disasters, that is likely to change.

That said, if there ever were a reason to activate a National EAS, we would probably feel a lot better not being warned. That situation would likely be for confirmed launch of several nuclear munitions, or an eminent meteor strike, or something else cataclysmic that a few minutes warning would really do nothing except fill our last moments with fear.

That said, if there ever were a reason to activate a National EAS, we would probably feel a lot better not being warned.

Nukes coming, stay safe bro. Lol

That bit about being prone to natural disasters in future does make sense, considering how climate change is resulting in increased in sea levels and affecting other things too.

Thanks for your perspective!

How helpful are the amber alerts really? I'm not going to call the cops every time I see a green Hyundai, and if I see a kid in distress I'm going to call them with or without the alert

I don't think it's as unpopular as you think. I've also disabled them due to frequency.

Too many alerts for everything at all times. Alert fatigue is real. I hate that I've done it, as I may miss something important.

I have also disabled alerts.

That noise fills me with anxiety when I hear it.

While you can disable moist emergency alerts, I don't believe you can disable the national level alerts.