No Nationwide Emergency Test in 2022, Says FEMA
LAS VEGAS -- No nationwide test of the emergency alert system will be held in 2022 to allow Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a comprehensive survey instrument to gauge the effectiveness of wireless emergency alerts, announced FEMA officials on an NAB Show 2022 panel Monday. “We are planning for that in the early part of 2023,” said Antwane Johnson, acting deputy assistant administrator-FEMA National Continuity Programs Directorate. Gathering data on previous nationwide WEA tests has been difficult, necessitating the survey effort, said Al Kenyon, FEMA customer support branch chief-integrated public alert warning system, in an interview Tuesday.
“We want more information from the public,” said Johnson in an interview. “Where were you when you got the alert? What type of phone did you have? What version of the software? There’s a number of questions that we can ask the public that will provide us a great deal of insight into how the system is functioning.” Johnson compared the survey instrument to recent FCC action to gather WEA data from wireless carriers. FEMA doesn’t have much visibility into how WEAs proceed after they have been sent, said Johnson. The survey could also tell FEMA whether emergency messages are getting through to underserved communities, he said. “We’ll see some reporting back and should be able to improve,” said Johnson. He said the 2023 test will likely also involve a test of the broadcast emergency alert system.
FEMA’s previous attempts to gather data on the results of nationwide tests of WEAs haven’t worked well, said Kenyon. FEMA sought feedback from Department of Homeland Security employees on the 2018 test, but those results were marred after the feedback form was made public amidst controversy over the test being falsely characterized as a text message from then-President Donald Trump, Kenyon said. Wireless carriers also reported technical issues in the 2021 test (see 2108260046), which was received only by customers who opted in to see it.
Johnson said survey preparation requires a pause in nationwide testing because of Paperwork Reduction Act requirements adding time to the process. “The number of approvals that you have to go through to issue a survey to the public is immense,” he said. Johnson said the information gathered in the survey will be shared with broadcasters, the wireless industry and the FCC.
The 2021 nationwide broadcast test also faced problems, largely due to breakdowns in message transmission by nationwide network Premiere, and low audio from some primary entry point stations. Digital Alert Systems Vice President Ed Czarnecki told us he believes there’s too much focus on the nationwide tests, when they effectively mimic the more common local tests of emergency alerting regularly done all over the country.
In Monday’s panel, DHS Program Manager Manny Centeno said broadcasters need to form relationships with FEMA and emergency responders before disasters rather than as they’re taking place. FEMA gets “a lot of calls” after major disasters from broadcasters looking for resources to keep their stations up, such as generator fuel, Centeno said. “Have that conversation before this stuff happens,” Centeno said. “The worst time, the absolute worst time to contact FEMA about a generator from a station we don’t have a direct relationship with is during an emergency.”