It’s Only a Test: Texas Conducts First-Ever Statewide Emergency Alert Drill Today
If your phone buzzes with an emergency alert this morning and outdoor sirens start wailing, don’t panic.
Today, Thursday, April 2, Austin and Travis County residents are among millions of Texans who may receive test notifications as part of a first-of-its-kind statewide emergency alert system drill.
What’s Happening
The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) organized the statewide drill to allow jurisdictions to evaluate the functionality and effectiveness of local warning tools that send critical emergency messages to the public. TDEM called this a “first-of-its-kind statewide testing of local alerting systems.”
Sirens and alerts could go off somewhere between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Austin Emergency Management and Travis County Office of Emergency Management will be participating jointly. During the test, agencies will run through their primary, alternate, and contingency systems to ensure all channels work as intended.
Who’s Involved
The drill casts a wide net. TDEM requested participation from designated local alerting authorities, along with local emergency management programs, school districts, primary and secondary education programs, colleges and universities, councils of government, river authorities, sovereign tribal nations, law enforcement agencies, and any other entities with emergency alerting capability.
Austin residents should also be aware that alert boundaries don’t follow city limits perfectly. Test alert messages could bleed beyond county or city limits, and people living near county borders may receive multiple alerts from different agencies on test day.
Why It Matters — and Why Austin in Particular
Local leaders have been emphatic about the stakes. Mayor Kirk Watson said the matter is “literally a matter of life and death,” adding that warning systems “can save your life, and they can save those you love.”
The statewide testing aligns with local efforts to improve emergency communications, especially after the city’s criticized response to January 2023’s winter storm, during which both officials and residents said not enough information was publicly provided. More recently, the urgency was underscored by last year’s Sandy Creek floods — a survivor of those July 2025 floods described calling her mother to say goodbye, believing she would not survive.
Texas Has a Serious Opt-Out Problem
The drill also comes with a blunt message for residents who may not receive any alerts today. Texas has the highest reported opt-out rate in the nation — 29.5% of Texans are opting out of at least one Wireless Emergency Alert, compared with 17.5% nationally. AMBER Alerts appear to be the biggest driver of the problem, with 22.2% of Texans opting out of them, far above the national rate of 11.2%.
Watson put it plainly: if residents aren’t getting the test alert today, they won’t get a warning in a real emergency — and that means they’re exposed when disaster strikes.
What You Should Do
If you don’t receive any alerts during the testing window this morning, take two steps: register for alerts at WarnCentralTexas.org, and go into your mobile device settings to ensure public safety alerts are turned on. The WarnCentralTexas system covers 10 counties — Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson — and alerts can be delivered via phone call, email, or text message.
Officials also caution against misinformation. Watson advised residents to rely on official channels and social media pages rather than unverified reports during emergencies, noting the frequent spread of disinformation in those situations.
Today’s drill is a rare opportunity to check whether you’re actually plugged into the systems designed to keep you safe. Take a moment to find out — before the next emergency makes it matter.
Sources
- City of Austin Emergency Management — austintexas.gov
- KXAN News — kxan.com
- Community Impact — communityimpact.com
- CBS Austin — cbsaustin.com
- Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) — tdem.texas.gov
- KLTV — kltv.com
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