Officials plan nationwide emergency alert test in Alaska
by Christine Kim
KTUU-2 NBC
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Officials say Alaska's unique location has put it on the forefront of emergency alerts.
The state will be the first to test a live National Emergency Message Code.
It's not surprising that Alaska will be the first state to test this code, it was the first to test the live tsunami alert system, and now will be the first to try this nation-wide alert.
In any emergency situation the goal is to alert the public as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Recent public service announcements warn viewers and listeners of an emergency code test that will hit airwaves at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6.
It's an exercise to see if, during a real national emergency, the word will reach the public.
"This particular test is going to use the real code if there was a national-level emergency and the president needed to talk to the American public. It's going to use the actual code that would be used during a national emergency," said Bryan Fisher, Chief of Operations at the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The Emergency Action Notification Code can only be activated by the president. It's never been tested before and officials say Alaska is the ideal location.
"If we can make the system work here, it will work anywhere. Alaska is really a natural test bed with our distances and our geographic limitations and the communication system up here. If we can prove that it works up here, it should work anywhere else in the country," Fisher said.
Several FEMA and national homeland security officials will come to Alaska to monitor the exercise that will operate out of Alaska's homeland security center.
The real alert will broadcast the president's voice on an audio track through radio and TV, but the test audio will first come to a local radio station, KFQD, and will be distributed to relay points across the state.
"When it comes to a connection or an activation from Washington, DC, the system has no limit so they're going to double-check and make sure everything will function differently," said Dennis Bookey with the state emergency communications.
"With the environment we're in today with homeland security and the terrorist threat there is a potential that the president could use the system to alert the public of a terrorist threat," Fisher said.
After the emergency code is tested officials will make changes and adjustments accordingly so that our nation and state will be prepared.
Alaska Homeland Security says after the test in Alaska, the aim is to do one nation-wide sometime next year.
A Web site will go live on Jan. 6 so the public can log in to give feedback after the test is broadcast. The site will not be active until then.
by Christine Kim
KTUU-2 NBC
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Officials say Alaska's unique location has put it on the forefront of emergency alerts.
The state will be the first to test a live National Emergency Message Code.
It's not surprising that Alaska will be the first state to test this code, it was the first to test the live tsunami alert system, and now will be the first to try this nation-wide alert.
In any emergency situation the goal is to alert the public as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Recent public service announcements warn viewers and listeners of an emergency code test that will hit airwaves at 10 a.m. on Jan. 6.
It's an exercise to see if, during a real national emergency, the word will reach the public.
"This particular test is going to use the real code if there was a national-level emergency and the president needed to talk to the American public. It's going to use the actual code that would be used during a national emergency," said Bryan Fisher, Chief of Operations at the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The Emergency Action Notification Code can only be activated by the president. It's never been tested before and officials say Alaska is the ideal location.
"If we can make the system work here, it will work anywhere. Alaska is really a natural test bed with our distances and our geographic limitations and the communication system up here. If we can prove that it works up here, it should work anywhere else in the country," Fisher said.
Several FEMA and national homeland security officials will come to Alaska to monitor the exercise that will operate out of Alaska's homeland security center.
The real alert will broadcast the president's voice on an audio track through radio and TV, but the test audio will first come to a local radio station, KFQD, and will be distributed to relay points across the state.
"When it comes to a connection or an activation from Washington, DC, the system has no limit so they're going to double-check and make sure everything will function differently," said Dennis Bookey with the state emergency communications.
"With the environment we're in today with homeland security and the terrorist threat there is a potential that the president could use the system to alert the public of a terrorist threat," Fisher said.
After the emergency code is tested officials will make changes and adjustments accordingly so that our nation and state will be prepared.
Alaska Homeland Security says after the test in Alaska, the aim is to do one nation-wide sometime next year.
A Web site will go live on Jan. 6 so the public can log in to give feedback after the test is broadcast. The site will not be active until then.
No comments:
Post a Comment