The Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System Wednesday to determine whether the broadcast still works in the event internet service is disrupted.

The test, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will happen at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time, according to an announcement from emergency management officials. An audio message will be broadcast on radio and television stations. It will last about one minute.

The Emergency Alert System allows for messages to be communicated nationally in the event of an emergency. It will sound similar to test messages of other alert systems that are broadcast on the radio and television.

Wednesday’s test will be the fifth nationwide for the Emergency Alert System, with the first being conducted in 2011, the announcement said.

Comments from the public about the test can be e-mailed to: FEMA-National-Test@fema.dhs.gov.

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