AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin is becoming a FEMA-approved Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Alerting Authority. The new system gives the city more capabilities to alert Austinites quickly with emergency safety information, according to a press release.

The first round of test messaging will begin on Monday around 3 p.m.

The messages will clearly state that they are part of a test and that no action is required from the public, the release said.

IPAWS "is a federally regulated system that allows jurisdictions to contact the public via cell phone towers, television, and radio," the press release said. IPAWS uses Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to contact cell phones in a geotargeted area and sends messages to televisions and radio stations by EAS.

The Emergency Ale

See Full Page