On Thursday, people in New York with capable phones will receive text messages that will either say "severe alert" or "extreme alert," warns CBS. These messages are part of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system test conducted by the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), together with the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The messages will be sent out Thursday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Users will hear a sound alert, even if the phone is on silent. When in place, the WEA system will allow the FCC and FEMA to send out texts about 'natural' disasters, terrorist attacks and AMBER alerts for missing children. The complete WEA system will be unveiled on January 1, 2012 in New York City. According to WCBS the system will be in place in cities across the country by the end of 2012.