The Federal Communications Commission is planning a review of the US emergency alert systems. Both the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WAS) will be subject to a “re-examination” by the agency. “We want to ensure that these programs deliver the results that Americans want and need,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr posted on X.
The announcement of this plan notes that the infrastructure underlying the EAS — which includes radio, television, satellite and cable systems — is 31 years old, while the framework underpinning the WAS mobile device alerts is 13 years old. The FCC review will also assess what entities should be able to send alerts on those systems, as well as topics such as geographic targeting and security.
The role of emergency communication systems came under recent scrutiny after catastrophic flooding in central Texas earlier this summer that led to more than 130 deaths. Questions arose in the aftermath of whether residents in potentially dangerous areas received enough warning to evacuate, as well as if recent federal cuts to the National Weather Service’s staff and budget could have contributed to the high death toll.