Emergency Alert System

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997 (approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in November 1994),[1] when it replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), which in turn replaced CONELRAD. It is jointly coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The EAS regulations and standards are governed by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC.

As with its predecessors, the system is primarily designed to allow the President to address the country via all radio and television stations, in the event of a national emergency. Despite this, the system nor its predecessors have never actually been used in this matter, due to the ubiquity of news coverage in these situations. In practice, it is more commonly used to distribute information regarding imminent threats to public safety, such as severe weather situations (including flash floods and tornadoes), and AMBER Alerts of child abductions.

Authorized organizations are able to disseminate and coordinate emergency alerts and warning messages through EAS and other public systems by means of IPAWS.[2] EAS messages are transmitted primarily via terrestrial and satellite radio and television (including broadcast and multichannel television), which are required to participate in the system.[3] Wireless Emergency Alerts are a secondary system using Cell Broadcast to relay public alerts to cellphones.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, it was used for alerting any populated area of the Grand Alliance when any event happens.