History Main / EmergencyBroadcast

** The system is tested frequently[[note]]At least one test is carried out every week, usually just to make sure all equipment is functional, but monthly tests and the annual national test go through an entire activation of the system. The weekly and monthly tests can also be skipped if a legitimate activation has already happened that week, since obviously everything is in working order.[[/note]] and has been for a long time. Much of the pop-culture awareness of the system derives from these tests, particularly their admonition that "this is only a test" and that if this were a real emergency, the broadcast would include important instructions. These tests also introduced viewers to the [[HellIsThatNoise loud attention beep]], although modern broadcasts rely more on the three repeated "chirps" (which are actually an encoded ASCII string with specific information about the emergency type and location); they're also delightfully called "duck farts". The CONELRAD era was particularly famous for its test activations, often done in conjunction with "duck and cover" civil defense drills of how to survive a nuclear attack; sometimes these drills are still done today, usually to prepare for a natural disaster. Places particularly prone to natural disasters (''e.g.'' near chemical or nuclear plants, or in a tornado-prone area) might also have warning sirens in conjunction with the alert, many of them repurposed air raid sirens from the Cold War era. In smaller communities, these sirens can be used to summon volunteer firefighters, but pagers are becoming more common for this purpose.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode "Homer Defined," when Homer's inattention to warnings that the core temperature is nearing dangerous levels results in a near meltdown, Channel 5 immediately goes on air with a news flash alerting residents to the situation and that only a couple of minutes remain before a sure nuclear explosion. Kent Brockman interviews Mr. Burns, who – despite the wail of the sirens and the imminent danger to Springfield – hides his nervousness as he nonchalantly assures the public that the problem will quickly be resolved and that there is no danger to the town. Reaction around Springfield is, of course, varied (for instance, the students at Springfield Elementary are huddled under their desks in anticipation of a powerful explosion while the residents at Springfield Retirement Castle turn the channel to watch ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' [and a humorous missolve of "THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN"]).

The Emergency Broadcast is a means of public warning and public annoyance alike. Hearing an Emergency Broadcast warning of actual danger may lead to OhCrap, MassOhCrap, the need for [[BringMyBrownPants one's brown pants to be brought]] -- in that way, it may be the ultimate BrownNote. On the other hand, a test or a warning of something that doesn't affect you (e.g. a {{missing child}} warning, a flood when you're on high ground, a tsunami when you're 100 miles inland) may be a BerserkButton and lead to frustration with CryingWolf. Another frequent frustration is when an actual alert has such horrible sound quality you can't understand what's being said. In many countries, AtomicHate was the primary reason for the system's creation, and it eventually (and thankfully) ended up never being used for that purpose and being used for many others. May involve an EmergencyPresidentialAddress.

Obviously a major source of NightmareFuel. Needless to say, TruthInTelevision. See also WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties.

** The system is tested frequently -- in fact, at least once a month -- and has been for a long time. Much of the pop-culture awareness of the system derives from these tests, particularly their admonition that "this is only a test" and that if this were a real emergency, the broadcast would include important instructions. These tests also introduced viewers to the [[HellIsThatNoise loud attention beep]], although modern broadcasts rely more on the three repeated "chirps" (which are actually an encoded ASCII string with specific information about the emergency type and location); they're also delightfully called "duck farts". The CONELRAD era was particularly famous for its test activations, often done in conjunction with "duck and cover" civil defense drills of how to survive a nuclear attack; sometimes these drills are still done today, usually to prepare for a natural disaster. Places particularly prone to natural disasters (''e.g.'' near chemical or nuclear plants, or in a tornado-prone area) might also have warning sirens in conjunction with the alert, many of them repurposed air raid sirens from the Cold War era. In smaller communities, these sirens can be used to summon volunteer firefighters, but pagers are becoming more common for this purpose.

* '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} The United Kingdom]]:''' The British emergency broadcast is limited to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_minute_warning "Four-Minute Warning"]], so called because its sole use was to warn the public that [[UsefulNotes/FromRussiaWithNukes the Soviets were attacking]], and the Soviet Union was close enough to Britain that they only had four minutes' advance notice before the bombs started dropping. The system was dismantled in 1992, not long after [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Soviet Union was]]. Weather warnings and emergency messages are typically done through special news reports. The networks are particularly prepared for special broadcasts announcing the death of a member of UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily, and they rehearse it for pretty much every member, each of whom has a protocol named [[ThemeNaming after a bridge]] (''e.g.'' "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge London Bridge]]" for the Queen, "Forth Bridge" for Prince Philip, "Menai Bridge" for Prince Charles). The government retains the legal right to take over the broadcasting of the two biggest networks (the Creator/{{BBC}} and Creator/{{ITV}}) in the event of a national emergency, but has not to date used this power.

The Emergency Broadcast is a means of public warning and public annoyance alike. Hearing an Emergency Broadcast warning of actual danger may lead to OhCrap, MassOhCrap, the need for [[BringMyBrownPants one's brown pants to be brought]] - in that way it may be the ultimate BrownNote. On the other hand, a test or a warning of something that doesn't affect you (e.g. a {{missing child}} warning, a flood when you're on high ground, a tsunami when you're 100 miles inland) may be a BerserkButton and lead to frustration with CryingWolf. Another frequent frustration is when an actual alert has such horrible sound quality you can't understand what's being said. In many countries, AtomicHate was the primary reason for the system's creation, and it eventually (and thankfully) ended up never being used for that purpose and being used for many others. May involve an EmergencyPresidentialAddress.

* The M.U.T.O. ViralMarketing website for ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' has one when you type in "[[Film/InvasionOfAstroMonster monster zero]]," "[[Film/GodzillaFinalWars monster x]]," or "monster island."

* When he launched Creator/CableNewsNetwork in 1980, Ted Turner promised that the 24-hour news network would never go off the air (at a time when most stations still went dark overnight): “We won’t be signing off until the world ends. We’ll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event … [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic we’ll play ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ before we sign off]].” He wasn't kidding. In 2001, the New York Daily News reported that [[CrazyPrepared CNN does have a tape prepared for that scenario]], a recording of "Nearer, My God, To Thee" over footage of a waving American flag.
** [[http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-video-cnn-will-play-when-the-world-ends-1677511538 It's true.]] It's in CNN's video archive system as "Turner Doomsday Video" with the specific instruction "HFR (hold for release) till end of the world confirmed."

* '''UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}:''' Canada's system is similar to that of its southern neighbours in the U.S.; it's distributed nationwide to [=TVs=], radios, and cell phones, it uses the same "duck farts" as the American EAS, and it disseminates warnings through Weatheradio Canada on the same VHF radio frequencies at the U.S. NOAA Weather Radio. Unlike the American EAS, though, the Canadian system was developed to warn of weather emergencies rather than nuclear war; the system was initially developed in the province of Alberta as a tornado warning system, and it was eventually adopted nationwide to include civil emergencies, flood warnings, and Amber Alerts. Notably, it doesn't usually do blizzard warnings, because [[CanadaEh Canada is used to those]].

The Emergency Broadcast is a means of public warning and public annoyance alike. Hearing an Emergency Broadcast warning of actual danger may lead to OhCrap, MassOhCrap, the need for [[BringMyBrownPants one's brown pants to be brought]] - in that way it may be the ultimate BrownNote. On the other hand, a test or a warning of something that doesn't affect you (e.g. a {{missing child}} warning, a flood when you're on high ground, a tsunami when you're 100 miles inland) may be a BerserkButton and lead to frustration with CryingWolf. Another frequent frustration is when an actual alert has such horrible sound quality you can't understand what's being said. In many countries, AtomicHate was the primary reason for the system's creation, and it eventually (and thankfully) ended up never being used for that purpose and being used for many others. Nay involve an EmergencyPresidentialAddress.

The Emergency Broadcast is a means of public warning and public annoyance alike. Hearing an Emergency Broadcast warning of actual danger may lead to OhCrap, MassOhCrap, the need for [[BringMyBrownPants one's brown pants to be brought]] - in that way it may be the ultimate BrownNote. On the other hand, a test or a warning of something that doesn't affect you (e.g. a {{missing child}} warning, a flood when you're on high ground, a tsunami when you're 100 miles inland) may be a BerserkButton and lead to frustration with CryingWolf. Another frequent frustration is when an actual alert has such horrible sound quality you can't understand what's being said. In many countries, AtomicHate was the primary reason for the system's creation, and it eventually (and thankfully) ended up never being used for that purpose and being used for many others.

* On the album "Take-Offs And Puts-Ons," George Carlin interrupts his "Wonderful WINO'' radio show:

* TruthInTelevision, obviously. Examples of some accidental ApocalypseHow alert activations when no disaster really existed can be found on the MassOhCrap page.

** Many people know the "J-Alert" from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the accompanying tsunami. Videos on Website/YouTube of TV broadcasts at the time showed them warning of the earthquake before it happened and sometimes showing the shaking if it was broadcasting something live (NHK was showing the [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePoliticalSystem Japanese Diet]] discussing something and appearing miffed that [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight they were being interrupted by an earthquake]]), then showed a studio announcer with an update (with the shaking still going on), before switching to the emergency alert system showing the map of Japan and which bits were about to get hit by a massive tsunami. Some versions show emergency instructions in English and Japanese being given simultaneously, so [[NiceJobBreakingItHero you can't understand either one]].

** The system is tested frequently -- in fact, at least once a month -- and has been for a long time. Much of the pop-culture awareness of the system derives from these tests, particularly their admonition that "this is only a test" and that you would hear actual instructions for what to do in an actual emergency. These tests also introduced viewers to the [[HellIsThatNoise loud attention beep]], although modern broadcasts rely more on the three repeated "chirps" (which are actually an encoded ASCII string with specific information about the emergency type and location); they're also delightfully called "duck farts". The CONELRAD era was particularly famous for its test activations, often done in conjunction with "duck and cover" civil defense drills of how to survive a nuclear attack; sometimes these drills are still done today, usually to prepare for a natural disaster. Places particularly prone to natural disasters (''e.g.'' near chemical or nuclear plants, or in a tornado-prone area) might also have warning sirens in conjunction with the alert, many of them repurposed air raid sirens from the Cold War era. In smaller communities, these sirens can be used to summon volunteer firefighters, but pagers are becoming more common for this purpose.

** Interestingly, EAS was ''not'' activated on September 11, 2001, probably the only event in the system's history when it might have been relevant to give a nationwide alert. However, as nationwide emergencies go, the September 11 attacks were a special case: AA Flight 11 hitting the North Tower was presumed at first to be a terrible accident, not an attack, and on its own was more than sufficiently newsworthy for many stations to have already cut to breaking news coverage in the fifteen-minute window before the South Tower was hit. With the news media on the case from the start, and most channels in the country suspending their normal programming in favor of news feeds within minutes, anybody watching TV already had just as much information as an EAS activation would have provided, if not more. (This, of course, has not prevented {{conspiracy theorist}}s from suggesting its lack of activation might be for a more sinister reason.)

* '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} The United Kingdom]]:''' The British emergency broadcast is limited to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_minute_warning "Four-Minute Warning,"]] so called because its sole use was to warn the public that [[UsefulNotes/FromRussiaWithNukes the Soviets were attacking]], and the Soviet Union was close enough to Britain that they only had four minutes' advance notice before the bombs started dropping. The system was dismantled in 1992, not long after [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Soviet Union was]]. Weather warnings and emergency messages are typically done through special news reports. The networks are particularly prepared for special broadcasts announcing the death of a member of UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily, and there is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge very detailed plan]] for announcing the eventual death of the Queen herself. There are also similarly detailed plans for announcing the passings of Charles, Prince of Wales (''Menai Bridge'') and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (''Forth Bridge'') among others, and were notably used when Diana Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (''Tay Bridge'') passed away in 1997 and 2002, respectively. The government retains the right by law to take over the broadcasting of the two biggest networks (the Creator/{{BBC}} and Creator/{{ITV}}) in the event of a national emergency, but has not to date used this power.

* '''UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates:''' The U.S. was the first country to institute a nationwide emergency broadcast system. The first version of it was called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CONELRAD CONELRAD]] and designed for the very specific purpose of warning people that [[UsefulNotes/FromRussiaWithNukes the Soviets were bombing]]. Then the government learned it could also be used to warn people about local emergencies like extreme weather events, upgraded the system, and renamed it the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Broadcast_System Emergency Broadcast System]]. The modern version is known as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Alert_System Emergency Alert System]] or EAS, because it's not just for broadcast -- you can also get alerts on satellite TV, weather radios, highway signs, or your cell phone. Modern weather radios and cell phones are sufficiently advanced that they can turn on to broadcast a warning (useful if it's the middle of the night).

* Website/YouTube is full of uploads of EBS/EAS tests (as well as those for other systems outside the US.) There are also clips where the sound is used as a screamer, as well as plenty of parodies, remixes, mockups, and WebAnimation/YouTubePoop.

*** In January 2018, the state of Hawaii was erroneously given an alert that a missile was headed towards them. It took 30 minutes for them to declare it a false alarm. State officials blames a worker who pushed the wrong button. [[https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/952250070354874370 Here's]] a TV recording of the incident.

The answer to the question, [[HellIsThatNoise "Hell is that noise?"]]

* '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} The United Kingdom]]:''' The British emergency broadcast is limited to the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_minute_warning Four-Minute Warning]]", so called because its sole use was to warn the public that [[UsefulNotes/FromRussiaWithNukes the Soviets were attacking]], and the Soviet Union was close enough to Britain that they only had four minutes' advance notice before the bombs started dropping. The system was dismantled in 1992, not long after [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Soviet Union was]]. Weather warnings and emergency messages are typically done through special news reports. The networks are particularly prepared for special broadcasts announcing the death of a member of UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily, and there is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge very detailed plan]] for announcing the eventual death of the Queen herself. There are also similarly detailed plans for announcing the passings of Charles, Prince of Wales (''Menai Bridge'') and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (''Forth Bridge'') among others, and were notably used when Diana Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (''Tay Bridge'') passed away in 1997 and 2002, respectively. The government retains the right by law to take over the broadcasting of the two biggest networks (the Creator/{{BBC}} and Creator/{{ITV}}) in the event of a national emergency, but has not to date used this power.
* '''UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}:''' The Japanese Emergency Warning System (or "J-Alert" system) is really slick and dates back to before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII for use by the Creator/{{NHK}}, Japan's national broadcaster. There are three sets of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrt26UfL13I "bell" tones]], and the more urgent the tone, the more urgent the emergency: the first is for natural disasters and civil defense warnings, the second is for large-scale disasters and to announce the death of the Emperor or a member of his family, and the third is for declaration of war or national emergency and hasn't been used since World War II. It's technologically advanced enough to give ''earthquake'' warnings (well, 10-15 seconds in advance, but it's better than most places) and also gives detailed tsunami warnings with a map of the hardest-hit areas. The NHK being a national broadcaster, it's also well-equipped to give emergency bulletins with information handed to them by the government. NHK alerts also include a data burst (which makes a "piro-piro-piro" sound on analog [=TVs=]) which includes second-language instructions for bilingual [=TVs=], so instead of Japanese, you could hear instructions in English, Chinese, Korean, or Portuguese.

* '''[[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} The United Kingdom]]:''' The British emergency broadcast is limited to the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_minute_warning Four-Minute Warning]]", so called because its sole use was to warn the public that [[UsefulNotes/FromRussiaWithNukes the Soviets were attacking]], and the Soviet Union was close enough to Britain that they only had four minutes' advance notice before the bombs started dropping. The system was dismantled in 1992, not long after [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Soviet Union was]]. Weather warnings and emergency messages are typically done through special news reports. The networks are particularly prepared for special broadcasts announcing the death of a member of UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily, and there is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_London_Bridge very detailed plan]] for announcing the eventual death of the Queen herself. There are also similarly detailed plans for announcing the passings of Charles, Prince of Wales (''Menai Bridge'') and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (''Forth Bridge'') among others, and were notably used when Diana Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (''Tay Bridge'') passed away in 1997 and 2002, respectively.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' where the authorities are broadcasting
the outbreak of zombies on TV, but Shaun just sees it as a boring news show, and keeps flipping the channel.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Necropolis'' takes this and runs with it. When Vervunhive is initially attacked, it not only broadcasts warnings on all local media channels, and activates alert sirens, they also ''ring the church bells'' in time with the sirens.
[[/folder]]

** There are 3 emergency broadcasts in Black Mesa. All of them can be heard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8sWF-7NVSE here.]] The 3rd one [[spoiler:has the United States government issuing an evacuation for '''all of New Mexico''' while they bomb Black Mesa and the surrounding areas to combat the hostile alien threat.]]