The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced today a statewide test of local alerting systems to evaluate effectiveness and functionality of these public warning tools.
TDEM has begun notifying local partners of the planned drill, which has been scheduled for April 2, 2026.
“Regular training and testing of public warning systems builds readiness before disaster strikes and is an important component of community safety,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. “Conducting drills to reaffirm procedures, promote confidence in technological tools, and identify potential shortfalls is key to ensuring these systems operate with precision, accuracy, and timeliness when they are needed the most.”
This test of local warning systems is part of TDEM’s commitment to working with Texas communities to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of disasters and emergencies throughout the state.
To create consistency and unified coordination across the state, a designated testing window has been established for local jurisdictions to utilize their primary, alternate, and contingency systems, allowing for verification of continuity within alerting local processes.
TDEM has requested participation from designated local alerting authorities, along with local emergency management programs, school districts, primary and secondary education programs, college and universities, councils of government, river authorities, sovereign tribal nations, law enforcement agencies, and any other entities with emergency alerting capability.
TDEM has also requested participating organizations share with state emergency management officials an update after completion of the drill with a summary, key takeaways, and any relevant details that may provide context about the success of the local system test.
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