Certainly this experience yesterday, where the entire emergency radio communications system for the state of Illinois went a little bonkers, shows that we’d be smart to stay in touch with local ham radio operators.
STLtoday – News – Missouri State News
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A test by the federal government of the new national Emergency Alert System went awry and resulted in faulty emergency messages being sent out over television and radio stations in Illinois Tuesday morning, state officials announced.The test was part of a program by the federal government to install the new satellite warning system in all 50 states. While federal officials were conducting what was supposed to be an internal test of the Illinois portion of the system, the test emergency signal was accidentally sent out.
The audio and written messages were sent from a Springfield location to radio and television stations around the state, said Patti Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. There were four messages, spaced about 10 minutes apart, starting shortly after 7 a.m.