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FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

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Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#51

Post by dredmorbius »

array-species wrote: post #17

Funny FEMA should just now come up, I just now spent some time considering FEMA! It is very surprising to me that much emergency infrastructure exists, without providing very basic things to households like regionally relevant emergency kits and something like one month of MRE + Water. Rather than it sitting in some warehouse... because distribution becomes a very immediate problem. Not forced but, offered to anyone…

The items which would be useful for an emergency situation are largely readily available commercially, and/or depend on both local and personal circumstances. There are guidelines for packing a go-bag or bug-out bag, e.g.,

https://www.state.gov/global-community-liaison-office/crisis...>

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/how-to-build-the-...>

Many of the specific supplies that are useful are dual-purpose, and may include preserved or shelf-stable food, camping, recreational, or work-out supplies.

The most critical needs are usually fairly brief, the day or two before rescuers can reach people, or during which evacuations are ongoing. Those in more remote regions may want to keep longer-term stores, perhaps a few weeks worth of supplies, but will likely have much of this on hand already.

Keep in mind that a go-bag is to go, and if it weighs much over 25 kilos / 50 lb or so, becomes a challenge to movement itself.

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#52

Post by wildzzz »

LinuxBender wrote: post #34
bombcar wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the "boy who cried wolf" problem - test messages should begin with TEST TEST TEST and there should be an option to filter out test messages. I blocked all emergency alerts until they finally gave you the ability to block just amber alerts.

Not just the word TEST but also flag it as a test. There is a field that differentiates test messages from real ones. Some cell phones have the option to enable/disable the test broadcasts. buried in the menus under emergency broadcasts In this case however I believe they want everyone to receive it regardless of being a test. I believe S. Korea also just did this test including locations of nearby bunkers. The US ma…

The US has some bunkers but unless you are some high government official or just work at the bunker, you're not getting in. Some people have their own bunkers but it's incredibly rare. Many people that live in tornado-prone areas have tornado shelters. In many parts of the US, below-grade basements are not a thing. Half of my basement is below ground but unfortunately the part that isn't, faces nearby Washington DC making it pretty useless for that.

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#53

Post by eastbound »

ragestorm wrote: post #48
eastbound wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Test messages are spam. After the pandemic, I think we’re quite a number to not trust the public services (either act too late, or try to revive the panic when it’s over). When I received the alert test messages, which, I remind, will not only be used to amplify terrorism scare but also for crowd management during flood, tell you to avoid protests, and then to tell us that we should urgently take the vaccine… No than…

Did you receive those emergency texts (the topics you listed) or merely speculating what they are used for?

Why wouldn’t they be sent, after the system is in place? Think of the children that can be harmed by a deadly virus. Of course it’s a case of emergency to get everyone vaccinated. Have you ever seen the government be reasonable with a public resource?

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#54

Post by dredmorbius »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #22
Scarjit wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In germany we now have a "Warntag" [literally "Warn day"], which is scheduled to be once per Year in September. This is mostly a result of a previous test, which revealed that in case of a catastrophe, most germans would not be warned (Sirens not functioning, cell broadcast was not used, ...) Sadly the website of our Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance is not translating every page to english.…

San Francisco used to test their sirens weekly which was frequent enough that both the siren and the incoherent verbal bits just kinda blended into the background.

SF's emergency siren system is being upgraded, not retired, though the project is delayed and over budget:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/bayarea/heatherknight/article...>

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#55

Post by wolrah »

bombcar wrote: post #31
eastbound wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Test messages are spam. After the pandemic, I think we’re quite a number to not trust the public services (either act too late, or try to revive the panic when it’s over). When I received the alert test messages, which, I remind, will not only be used to amplify terrorism scare but also for crowd management during flood, tell you to avoid protests, and then to tell us that we should urgently take the vaccine… No than…

It's the "boy who cried wolf" problem - test messages should begin with TEST TEST TEST and there should be an option to filter out test messages. I blocked all emergency alerts until they finally gave you the ability to block just amber alerts.

> I blocked all emergency alerts until they finally gave you the ability to block just amber alerts.

Likewise. I still have a tendency to forget whenever I reset my phone or get a new one until inevitably the next amber alert will be at 3:30 AM on a night that I really need every minute of sleep.

There is no logic to amber alerts being delivered as screaming alarms, and everyone responsible for that behavior being the default should never be allowed to make meaningful decisions again. Normal notifications that respect silent and DND settings would be perfectly fine.

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#56

Post by ragestorm »

eastbound wrote: post #53
ragestorm wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you receive those emergency texts (the topics you listed) or merely speculating what they are used for?

Why wouldn’t they be sent, after the system is in place? Think of the children that can be harmed by a deadly virus. Of course it’s a case of emergency to get everyone vaccinated. Have you ever seen the government be reasonable with a public resource?

I would think they wouldn’t just utilize the system so broadly or maliciously as you speculated. I have seen the government be reasonable with a public resource at least in US. Are there times when it is incorrectly used? Yes, but it is used far more reasonably than not.

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#57

Post by dredmorbius »

dredmorbius wrote: post #49
icegreentea2 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The DoD procures MREs at about 80 bucks a case of 12. You could probably stretch one MRE per day for survival situations (~1250 calories), though 1.5 or 2 would be much more comfortable. Taking it to be 1 per day, one month is 200 dollars. MREs have a 3 year shelf life at room temperature, so each person you supplied would need to be topped off every 3 years - so like 65 bucks per person per year. So fits in their cu…

The recommended shelf life may be three years, but the meals can almost certainly be used long past that point, with only modest degradation. I'd agree that a month's supply is excessive. Three days to a week would be far more reasonable in most cases. The goal is to tide over until other resources can be found, which in most cases will be a few days. Where longer-term nutrition is required, far more conventional lon…

Not to put undue weight to YouTube's reliability, but there's at least one channel devoted to eating long-out-of-date MREs and other military emergency / survival rations. From as long ago as 1906 (117 years ago):

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=562nQKR3_3M> (1h35m runtime, first bite at 16:24).

There are multiple selections from the 1940s (WWII era), and selections from numerous militaries (US, UK, Canada, Vietnam, China, Japan, Sweden, Israel, South Africa, ...).

https://yewtu.be/channel/UC2I6Et1JkidnnbWgJFiMeHA>

Re: FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023

#58

Post by dredmorbius »

dredmorbius wrote: post #57
dredmorbius wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The recommended shelf life may be three years, but the meals can almost certainly be used long past that point, with only modest degradation. I'd agree that a month's supply is excessive. Three days to a week would be far more reasonable in most cases. The goal is to tide over until other resources can be found, which in most cases will be a few days. Where longer-term nutrition is required, far more conventional lon…

Not to put undue weight to YouTube's reliability, but there's at least one channel devoted to eating long-out-of-date MREs and other military emergency / survival rations. From as long ago as 1906 (117 years ago): https://yewtu.be/watch?v=562nQKR3_3M > (1h35m runtime, first bite at 16:24). There are multiple selections from the 1940s (WWII era), and selections from numerous militaries (US, UK, Canada, Vietnam, China,…

And ... having developed a new hobby ...

Not all experiences are positive. A 1986 MRE prototype, tested in 2018 (32 years old at the time) is decidedly stale:

https://yewtu.be/watch?v=qhCmUoDnzmk>

Watching a sampling of videos might give you an idea of what to watch for in terms of damaged / stale / degraded food. There's also good information on nutritional choices in emergency situations, including "metabolic water", the amount of water that's consumed or released in consumption of carbohydrates and fats (net positive) vs. protein (net negative), as well as caloric density by unit weight (4 kcal/g for protein and carbohydrate, 9 kcal/g for fats), vitamin, and fibre content.

A friend also reports that organisations often sell or auction out-of-date rations which can remain usable for some additional time.

With careful storage (cool, dark, dry place, low humidity, no degradation of packaging), emergency food should store well.

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