Wireless Emergency Alert test to take place on Sept. 12 at 3 p.m.

(Sedgwick County, Kan.) –On Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, at 3 p.m. Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita will take part in an unprecedented test of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. WEAs are a critical piece of the public alert structure that is used for delivering life-saving information to your phone. An example of a previously received WEA alert would be a tornado warning in your immediate area or an Amber Alert.

While other nationwide WEA tests have occurred in the past, this time the FCC is working with only select jurisdictions across the country to test a particular component of the WEAs: their ability to notify only the intended audience within a geo-targeted area, while not delivering the message to other parts of the city or county where the alert is not valid.

In order to test that capability and gauge its accuracy, the test will be geo-targeted to a ½-mile square area bounded on the southeast by Douglas & Topeka; north to Central & Topeka; west to Central where it curves south in front of Water’s Edge apartments; south to Douglas & the river; then back east to Douglas & Topeka.

The WEA test message people receive on their phones will include a link to a survey that will help the FCC determine how successful the test was. Any member of the public who receives the alert, whether they are inside the test area or outside its boundaries, is encouraged to follow that link and complete the survey. The first question will ask for a control number; since they will not have one, that line can be skipped.

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