UPDATED: Don't Panic! Nationwide Test Set to Sound at 2 p.m. Nov. 9

The first test of the Emergency Alert System simultaneously across the United States will sound for 30 seconds at the same time.

Everyone in the United States listening to the radio or watching TV at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Nov. 9 will hear an alarming 30-second set of beeps and tones followed by a reassuring voice repeating, “this is a test.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which will play simultaneously on all regularly scheduled television, radio, cable and satellite programs. FEMA and the FCC have worked with broadcasters for years to develop a message system that the president of the United States will use to communicate with the public in case of a national emergency. The …

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