Wireless Emergency Alerts: What You Need to Know

1/26/2018 (Permalink)

The Wireless Emergency Alert system partners with many local and state public safety agencies.

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are free notifications to your mobile device as part of public safety system provided by authorized government-alerting authorities. These alerts are designed to inform the public of imminent threats to safety. It also alerts you of missing persons in your area (e.g., AMBER Alerts).  Government partners include local and state public safety agencies, FEMA, the FCC, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Weather Service. A WEA can be sent to your mobile device when you may be in harm’s way, without subscribing to a service or downloading the app. WEAs may be used to share local emergencies requiring evacuation or immediate attention, extreme weather warnings, AMBER Alerts, and Presidential Alerts during a national emergency.

  A WEA will look like a text message. The WEA message will typically show the type and time of alert, any action you should take, and the agency issuing the alert. The message will be no more than 90 characters.

Visit www.ctia.org/wea to learn more about Wireless Emergency Alerts.