For Immediate Release: Tuesday, February 23, 2016 The Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security wants to make the public aware that the entire state of Maryland will be participating in a national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to take place on Wednesday, February 24 at 2:20 p.m. The messaging and style of the test will be similar to the regular monthly test message of the EAS, but, is being conducted in order to test and assess the readiness for distribution of a national-level message. Montgomery County residents may hear and see the following on participating radio and television stations tomorrow afternoon: “This is a national test of the Emergency Alert System. This is only a test.” This test is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to FEMA, “Public safety officials need to be sure that in times of an emergency or disaster they have methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public when needed. Periodic testing of public alert and warning systems is a way to assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine what improvements in technologies need to be made.” More information on the Public Alert and Warning System and Wireless Emergency Alerts is available at www.fema.gov/ipaws or www.ready.gov/alerts. # # # Release ID: 16-078 Media Contact: Lucille Baur 240-777-6507 Sign Up for News Updates from eSubscription County News News Releases Media Advisory Speeches and Testimonies Statements Press Photos Paperless Airplane County News Public Information Office 0

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