Emergency Alert System Activated By Mistake (Oops!)

CBS TV 42 ^ | Tuesday June 26, 2007 | Milwaukee_Guy

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Federal Government Was Testing Satellite System, Activated EAS By Mistake

(CBS) CHICAGO Chicago area radio and TV stations were taken over for a couple minutes this morning, after what was supposed to be a test of a new satellite system instead activated the Emergency Alert System.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Illinois Impacted by Inadvertent EAS Trigger

6.26.2007

Several hundred stations in Illinois were affected by an EAS mistake this morning, sources told Radio World. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency was testing new EAS equipment; what was supposed to be a closed-circuit test of the 10-minute presidential alert message from FEMA actually was broadcast to some 500 stations.

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0100/t.6891.html

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Anybody see or hear the alert message this morning? A friend saw it in Kenosha on TV. Ran a crawl describing a national emergency and then nothing.

WGN TV and Radio ran it but has no update on their web sites.

[streetpreacher]

I’m sure it will be the new intro to the next Alex Jones Flick: “Martial Law: Revenge of the Bohmeian Overlords”.

[JRios1968]

[Allegra]

Ran a crawl describing a national emergency and then nothing.

Did it say "All Your Base Are Belong to Us?"

Now, that could be somewhat disconcerting.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Emergency Action Notification Audio Message

This is an Emergency Action Notification requested by the
White House. All broadcast stations will follow activation
procedures in the EAS Operating Handbook for a national
level emergency. The President of the United States or his
representative will shortly deliver a message over the Emergency Alert System.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Broadcast this Announcement

We interrupt our programming at the request of the White
House. This is the Emergency Alert System. All normal
programming has been discontinued during this emergency.
This is (station call). This station will continue furnishing
news, official information and instructions for the (EAS Local
Area name) area.

If you are not in (EAS Local Area name) area, you should
tune to stations providing news and information for your area.
It is important that you listen carefully to announcements from
the station in your local area.

REPEAT AS NEEDED

[fieldmarshaldj]

Just kidding !

[Milwaukee_Guy]

I love that scene. Great movie!

[Uriah_lost]

We got that on the radio here in StLouis. My phone went crazy. Everybody called me because they thought I would know what was happening. Nice of them to think of me but I was asleep at the time...lol!

[spinestein]

Yes, I heard that this morning on NPR on the way to work. First was the normal attention getting tones, but not followed by the normal “this is only a test” message, just a bunch of silence followed by static. Then a man’s voice saying, “test-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10” followed by more static.

Then the local NPR announcer started to say something about how he didn’t have any information about what was going on except that the emergency alert system was activating nationwide. Then the tones started going off again followed by more static. After about a minute the NPR guy came on again and announced that there was NO emergency but the emergency broadcast system was experiencing some technical difficulties.

Nothing like a little bit of anxiety followed by some malaise to go with my breakfast just before work.

Idiots.

[taxesareforever]

How much are these guys being paid? Evidently not enough to promote quality control.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

I wonder how many people needed to change their underwear after hearing this mistaken broadcast?

A similar thing happened to me when I was a kid, back when
Nixon was president. My family lived on Long Island, NY,
about 35 - 40 miles east of mid-town Manhattan. Anyway,
my family was having dinner, and way down the road, the siren (on a tower) at the local fire house starting to loudly emit what sounded like a loud “air raid” tone....
just like during the “Battle of Britain” in the 1940’s.
You could hear it for miles in all directions. My father says, at the dinner table, “Is that an air raid siren?”
I thought the Russians were bombing New York! I nearly dove under the table.

As it turned out, someone accidentally activated the Emergency Broadcast System. There was a big hullabaloo
in the media, because all the television stations were supposed to cease their programming, and only half of them did.

[Bernard]

In 1959, the Chicago Fire Commissioner set off all the fire alarms in the city when the White Sox won the American League pennant. Because he was a close friend of Mayor Richard J. Daley, he did not lose his job.

In Chicago, we told Polish jokes, but we re-elected Irish jokes.

[LittleBillyInfidel]

Your story is interesting! I had a similar scare. In 1988 at a rural college town, I was up late one night watching TV. Suddenly, the tv went off with a flash. No big deal, a ‘power hit’ - so i tried to go to sleep. Suddenly, the civil defense sirens went off! (Again, this is like 1130pm.) Somewhat concerned, I got up to look out the window at the neighborhood and in to the main street. There were no lights working anywhere - not even the stop lights. The siren grew louder! Somewhat PANICED, I went to the phone to try to call family in Denver - but he phone lines were dead!! I went to the rooftop balconey of my fraternity house and there was only a far off glow of light where Denver ‘was’. Adrenaline pumping, i got dressed to go down and take a drive- and my car would not start - it would not turn over!! I got out of the car, wondering what I was to do next!! Suddenly, the power came back on and the siren stopped.

I later discovered the phone was unplugged but never could find out what happened as per the car/power/siren coincidence. I shared the story with fraternity brothers whom heard the siren. We all shared the brief feeling of what it must be like to imagine surviving the worst case scenario.

[ladyjane]

You listen to NPR?

[Rb ver. 2.0]

Knowing your enemy is wise.

[mad_as_he$$]

Was it an accident? The message originated from the WH and used REAL Presidential codes. There was also a false flagging drill going on at the same time. You decided. W has laid all of the paperwork in place to LEGALLY declare martial law in the last 6 months.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Is stupidity going to kill us? Are the murderers going to see our idiocy and take advantage of it? We are bloody vulnerable?

[ladyjane]

Maybe the White House feels the terror threats are real and they want to be sure the entire system works.