What is the emergency alert system? Some residents of Salem, Oregon, found out a couple of years ago, and they also learned that it doesn't always have the desired effect.

Now, if you’re like me, it's somewhat satisfying when something happens that shows that all of our crazy prepping efforts aren’t so crazy after all.

Now, it’s important to note that I (and hopefully all of you) don’t find enjoyment in others' failure to prepare or when adversity knocks them on their butt. With that, though, the incident I want to talk about is just one more example of why it is SO GOOD to be a prepper. Because as we all know, it’s not a matter of if something happens. It’s a matter of when.

In 2018, an incident in Salem, Oregon, with their emergency alert system reinforced just how right you are and how wrong all of the prepping naysayers are. This is a great example to point to when people call you crazy or share with those on the fence about becoming better prepared.

First, what is the emergency alert system?

You may be wondering, what IS the emergency alert system? It is a national warning system that the FCC approved in 1994 and rolled out in 1997 on a national basis. This replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (Remember those "tests" they ran every night on television around midnight, letting us know this was ONLY a test, but if it had been an actual emergency, bla bla bla?) For the 80s nostalgia of it:

Today, national, state, or local governments can use the emergency alert system on a national, state, or local level. Ready.gov explains:

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that allows the president to address the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency. The alerts are sent through broadcasters, satellite digital audio services, direct broadcast satellite providers, cable television systems and wireless cable systems.

The EAS may also be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information such as weather information, imminent threats, AMBER alerts and local incident information targeted to specific areas.

The president has sole responsibility for determining when the national-level EAS will be activated. FEMA is responsible for national-level EAS tests and exercises.

The EAS is also used when all other means of alerting the public are unavailable.

There are also wireless emergency alerts that go directly to geographically targeted, compatible cellphones.

What could possibly be bad about that?

If you are just now finding out what is the emergency alert system, you may be wondering what could be wrong with a system that immediately lets a wide swath of the population know that a crisis is imminent or a child has gone missing.

Well...usually nothing.

But when it goes wrong, it does so in a spectacular fashion.

Right, Hawaii?

Earlier in 2018, Hawaii residents received the horrifying message that a ballistic missile was inbound and that they should seek shelter immediately. The messaged ended chillingly, with the words, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Well, it wasn't a drill. It was a boo-boo—a really HUGE one. Daisy Luther of The Organic Prepper covered the incident with multiple updates. The entire thing turned out to be a false alarm. While people were literally shoving their children into the sewer systems to try and protect them, praying for forgiveness, and devolving into hysteria, the entire thing had happened when someone had goofed, hit the wrong button, and sent out the warning by mistake.

And that's not the only time an emergency warning system alert went wrong.

Just a few months later, Salem, Oregon residents, were able to relate to a not so well thought out emergency alert notification that said simply, "Civil Emergency" and "Prepare for Action."

Salem's residents had absolutely NO idea what type ...