FEMA To Text A ‘Presidential Alert’

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will send most cell phone owners in the United States a text message Thursday. It’s a test of the agency’s “presidential alert” system, which allows the president to send out national texts in the event of a catastrophe. The test message will read, “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” The presidential texting program was started in 2012, but it has not been tested before. Legally, a test is required at least once every three years.