Statewide Emergency Alert Systems Drill on April 2

Last week, the Texas Division of Emergency Management announced a statewide drill for local emergency alerting systems. The drill is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, and will allow jurisdictions to evaluate the functionality and effectiveness of these local warning tools that send critical emergency messages to the public.  

TDEM has requested participation from designated local alerting authorities, along with local emergency management programs, school districts, primary and secondary education programs, college and universities, councils of government, river authorities, sovereign tribal nations, law enforcement agencies, and any other entities with emergency alerting capability.  

Austin Emergency Management and Travis County Office of Emergency Management will be participating in this drill jointly. To create consistency and unified coordination across the state, a designated testing window has been established for local jurisdictions to use their primary, alternate, and contingency systems. Based on where you live or work, you may receive alerts from various agencies on Thursday. 

“Travis County is ready to participate in this important statewide coordinated drill. We are committed to ensuring our community’s public warning systems are fully operational and work as intended,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. 

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also shares this sentiment and believes testing these systems is a crucial part of emergency response.  

“Being able to quickly deliver critical information to the public in the event of an emergency is paramount to keeping our community safe,” Watson said. “Being proactive and testing our emergency alerting systems helps keep our staff trained and ready to send notifications in a real emergency so that the public can be aware.” 

The public is encouraged to turn on emergency alerts on their mobile devices in the notifications settings and register to receive alerts via phone call, text message, and email with WarnCentralTexas.org.  

Because of how cell towers and signals operate, the test messages may bleed into areas beyond county or city limits. People living or working near county borders may receive alerts from bordering counties when they test their respective systems. 

For more information about this test and the emergency alert system, please visit ReadyCentralTexas.org.