The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said that beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, October 4, 2023 it will conduct a nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System (EAS) for TVs and radios, and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) for phones.
India already doing this exercise these days. pic.twitter.com/NWgJMGgOy8
— Rohit Singhal (@Rohitsinghal193) October 4, 2023
Cell towers will broadcast a signal for approximately 30 minutes, causing WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower and whose wireless provider participates in WEA, to receive the test message.
Is Russia about to go nuclear?
This follows a similar emergency alert test in Russia, and comes on the heels of the news that satellite imagery has allegedly indicated Russia may be gearing up for tests of an intercontinental cruise missile powered by a nuclear reactor known as SSC-X-9 Burevestnik (NATO: Skyfall) or that such tests may have already taken place.
The New York Times, citing satellite images from Planet Labs, reported that on the morning of Sept. 20, equipment was spotted on the launch pad situated in the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Among the equipment was a truck with a trailer, reportedly matching the dimensions of the missile itself. Also, the shelter usually hiding the launch pad was moved aside. By noon, the trailer had vanished, and the shelter was back in place.
Further satellite images from Sept. 28 showed renewed activity at the launch pad, with a truck once again parked near the site and the shelter pushed aside.
However, there is an international moratorium on nuclear testing and the Soviet Union’s last nuclear test took place in 1990. The United States’ last nuclear test took place in 1992 and France and China conducted their last nuclear tests in 1996, according to the United Nations.
The Kremlin said this week it had not abandoned the moratorium when asked about remarks by Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of state-funded broadcaster RT, who suggested that Russia should detonate a nuclear bomb over Siberia.
“At present, we have not left the regime of abandoning nuclear tests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“I don’t think such discussions are possible now from an official point of view,” Peskov said, adding that Simonyan’s words did not “always” reflect Moscow’s official position.
Simonyan said the Ukraine crisis was moving towards a nuclear ultimatum and that the West would not stop until Russia sent a nuclear message.