Darci Marchese, wtop.com

WASHINGTON — You may be used to hearing Emergency Alert System tests on WTOP, but Wednesday it will be different. The test will be seen and heard across the country at the same time.

At 2 p.m., the first national test of the emergency alert system will be heard and seen on televisions and radios throughout the nation. It will last just 30 seconds.

EAS is designed to make sure the nation is prepared for any type of hazard or emergency, and provides vital information for the public on what to do.

D.C. officials are getting out the word that Wednesday is just a test. Local agencies don’t want people calling 911 after hearing or seeing the test.

“Because of the system design, not all of you will see the crawl that says this is a test,” says Craig Fugate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA is conducting the test jointly with the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While state and local tests already take place frequently on WTOP and stations across the country, a nationwide test of the EAS has never occurred.

For more information on the nationwide test visit the FEMA page here.

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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)