The first nationwide test of an emergency broadcast signal flopped in Oregon.
The Oregon Office of Emergency Management said Wednesday reports were coming in from radio and television stations around the state — and most say they didn’t get the signal, or did not get it well.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was aware the broadcast did not work everywhere and is looking into why.
The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System went off at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Oregon.
A spokeswoman for the state agency, Jennifer Chamberlain, said that if there were a real nationwide emergency, the Oregon system could relay the information.
Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency reported seeing the test without audio alerts on KATU, KGW and KPTV.
“It appears there was no interruption of KOIN, NWCN or KXL Radio for this national test,” Cheryl Bledsoe wrote on the CRESA blog.
Monthly tests of the system by local agencies have been successful, she said.
CRESA said it also communicates emergency information with the public through Flash Alert News, the Community Notification System (a phone-based system) and on social media.
Columbian weather blogger Steve Pierce said the test didn’t appear on the HD Weather Channel on his TV. He was able to see the test on KGW but his HD cable box didn’t shift into “EAS mode,” he said.
