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Wireless Emergency Alerts Testing Postponed

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As a result of the response efforts to the Deer Park fire at the Intercontinental Terminal Company (ITC) plant, the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has decided to postpone the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) testing that was scheduled for tomorrow, March 19, 2019.

The new test date is Tuesday, March 26, 2019. The times and locations remain the same.

The Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will test the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) text message using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The message will read: “This is a test of the Mont Co. Wireless Emergency Alerts No action required
www.mctxocm.org”

If you do not receive at a minimum the first test that targets all of Montgomery County at 10: 15 AM or if you feel as though you should have received a second message. please go to www.mctxoem.org and fill out the survey. You can direct any questions or concerns to OHSEM 936-523-3900.

 

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Please note that some public will receive more than one test message in a short amount of time. The testing will not become the norm but Is necessary to ensure the public’s safety.

The three test times and locations are:
1) 10:15am Montgomery County – Countywide
2) 11:15 am 2nd Alert- Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport. Fairgrounds and surrounding area
3) 11 :30 am 3rd Alert – The Woodlands Mall and surrounding area

The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s system used to distribute alert and warning messages. IPAWS is a comprehensive, coordinated, integrated system that can be used by authorized public officials to deliver effective, life-saving, alert messages to the public. This is the same system used for Amber Alerts, National Weather Service (NWS) Alerts, and Silver Alerts. The public cannot opt out of these messages. These messages are for the interest of public safety and will be received by all cellular devices in the associated area of the message.

In the time of a natural or man-made disaster, or to secure the safety of the residents of Montgomery County, the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, will use this method or messaging to alert the public or evacuations, shelter-in-place, areas to avoid etc. These tests will assess the operational readiness of the IPAWS Infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine if technological improvements are needed. This will be the first IPAWS WEA test specifically for Montgomery County.

 

Source: Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security

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