The Disaster Center-- Nov. 9, 2011 - 12:47 PM EDT - In less than two hours a nation wide test of the emergency alert system will take place, with the exception of Alaska. Alaska is being exempt due to an ongoing storm affecting the western part of the state estimated to be the worst since 1974. The nationwide test is expected to take place at around 2PM EST and will last 30 seconds.
"At 2:00 pm eastern today all Americans should remember - don't stress, it's just a test," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "Today's test will be an important chance for FEMA, the FCC and our other partners to determine what works well in our current system, what doesn't, and what improvements need to be made as we work to build a modern and fully accessible public alert and warning system."