Trying to prove MAGAT wrong on FEMA alert today.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

Three inlaws who all got their phones near Houston, got the message in Spanish. One is a MAGAT and went into all kinds of BS about the government and FEMA.

For the analytical types... FEMA stated that the language of the alert was based on phone settings - language. Easy to find on my android. MAGAT sent screen shot of phone setting - English only language listed.

Wondering if there's a deeper language setting ? Installed by phone company?

Read somewhere else that alert sent in the official language of municipality it was purchased in. ?? Contrary to what FEMA said.

Just know there's a logical individual explanation . Otherwise problem would be rampant.

[Effete Snob]

1. "who all got their phones near Houston"

From what sort of establishment?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. Three inlaws. Probably local Verizon store?

Or comparable.

[MLAA]

2. Maybe somebody at FEMA is plunking the MAGAS!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

8. Lol. That'd be cool. Only one of three sisters ( our nieces)

is a MAGAT. She lives near Houston. Non-MAGATS - One in Grand Rapids ( got alert in Spanish) One in Tampa ( got alert in Spanish) But all phones bought near Houston.

[ms liberty]

3. I got one in English first, then a second one in Spanish. I thought that was interesting. n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Very interesting. When you get a second, can you look

At your language setting. If you don't have both languages listed that will help

[mwooldri]

9. Mine was weirder.

First Spanish. Second English. Third Spanish.

My phone is set up English (US). No Spanish language support installed on phone. But French and Japanese are on the Google keyboard.

No matter. It was a test and if the test was to send out two messages in two languages it was a success

[Laura PourMeADrink]

15. Exactly. Big picture saves lives. Do you live near

A significant Hispanic population?

[mwooldri]

37. Greensboro NC?

It probably has significant enough of a Spanish speaking population to warrant the bilingual messaging.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

38. Trying to figure out how they came up with Spanish

Message recipients. Not on phone settings so they used some other factor.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. Very low Hispanic pop.. ln GV. ...like 7.5 %

Anomaly

[Brentos]

5. Both

My first was Spanish, my 2nd was English. My phone is only set to English.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. Wow... now that's interesting. Sounds like FEMA did go

By phone settings, but then by some other factor? Do you live near significant Hispanic populations?

[Elessar Zappa]

6. No point in arguing with a MAGA.

Just dismiss them as the idiots they are. There’s not enough of them to put Trump in office anyway. It’s the 5-10% of so-called Independents that we got to worry about winning over.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. Oh I agree - on policies for sure. But this phone thing is like

a puzzle to me. Actually tho, wouldn't put it past her to change her settings then screenshot

[llmart]

34. That was what I suspected was done.

[Eliot Rosewater]

12. I spent several weeks around medical people who had English as second language

And had heavy accents making it difficult for me to understand. At first I was frustrated and then I realized that these people knew two languages and I knew only one.

I decided it was up to me to learn Spanish so I began to do that and elicited their help, I wish I could learn it quicker

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. Interesting, trying to figure this out I read that someone switched

Their phone language to the language that they wanted to learn. They said they picked up so much so rapidly. Just an idea

[Eliot Rosewater]

18. Hmm, could work. I use the translate app a lot on my iPhone.

Just a reminder the average immigrant no matter the level of education, is working harder than most of us at so many things.

[yonder]

20. Interesting idea, gracias!

[Meadowoak]

13. Here in KY. my phone went off in English.

[intrepidity]

14. I didn't even get one nt

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. trump type burner phone ? JK

[intrepidity]

21. Nope, android pixel nt

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. Joke. Wonder why you didn't get

[intrepidity]

24. No cell service here but phone works via wifi

Really sucks when the power goes out which is too often (NorCal fire territory). Nothing like being in a fire and having no communication.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

27. Wow that does sound insane. And real safety issue.

[Mossfern]

26. I have a Pixel and got it.

I turned it off immediately, didn't even read the alert because I already knew that it was a test.

[Conjuay]

45. As soon as it started...

I pulled the battery.
If everyone's phone is ringing, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

[SheilaAnn]

19. Me neither, I'm in Florida. n/t

[MorbidButterflyTat]

23. I didn't either

in western New York.

OMG...


..............CONSPIRACY!!!!!111!!

[SheilaAnn]

32. I have what they call an "old lady phone" the Jitterbug. Son thinks that's why I didn't get it. n/t

[gratuitous]

25. I think that means they're now illegal aliens

I got the alert once in English and twice in Spanish. And for your relative, FEMA used to be one of the premier government agencies, almost on a par with Social Security. But then George W. Bush and his merry band of iconoclasts decided we didn't need to have a robust federal response to natural disasters. Then Katrina practically scrubbed New Orleans off the map. Heckuva job. The agency has been trying to recover for almost 20 years from Republican marauding.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

29. Heck of a job Brownie!!

In their defense tho... they just used data from participating cell companies/towers. Garbage in/ garbage out. To get most people is actually quite remarkable. No phone - on TV and radio.

We were just talking about how there isn't a "phone book" of cells like there used to be of home phones.

[Valdosta]

28. I have no cell phone. Posting from an old desktop.

So I missed out on the zombie apocalypse, right?

Very quiet outside. Too quiet.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Yes! You missed that too. They're everywhere!

[ProfessorGAC]

31. Got One Alert Only

My wife & I got them at essentially the same time, both in English. Right at 1:20CDT
Just 1 alert, in one language, each.
The alert came through the cable system about 30 seconds later. Only in English.
And, our phones are set to English.
I think the purpose of the test was to find issues & it appears there are some.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

35. Exactly.. but as a systems person my immediate thought

was.. " oh my, what a mess of junk & aberrations to sort out!

Great start FEMA!

[TSExile]

33. I didn't hear the warning at all!!

I was in a room with about 10 other women at 2:20 and didn't hear any phone going off. It was actually a disappointment.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. wtw? Maybe you guys didn't get cell tower signal?

My guess

[Johnny2X2X]

39. Oh no

"Spanish? Well, sorry, but if you got the message in Spanish, that means you've been selected to get gay married, please report to the Hillary Clinton camp for re-education and re-sexing, please comply promptly to make this transition easier."

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. ?

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

42. I was in Austin/San Antonio yesterday on family business.

Got one alert in English only, even though I have Spanish and Japanese enabled on my phone. I live elsewhere, but that area also has a large Hispanic population.

As for the locals, my blue-eyed, blonde-haired stepsister got the Spanish and English messages. Her Hispanic husband got his in English only. His brother and SIL got theirs in Spanish and English. All of them have Spanish last names, and Spanish and English enabled on their phones.

We're all on iPhone. I'm on T-Mobile. They were all on Verizon.

If you got messages in another language, or two languages, the only other possibility is that the number itself has a history of a previous Hispanic user, or both English- and Spanish-speaking users, and FEMA played it safe.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

44. Interesting. Have dug and understand more now. FEMA

Arranged the test and created the message. But it was up to cell phone providers to broadcast it out. Some did it very well some didn't. I am suspecting that although FEMA said that you would get a message in Spanish if your phone had that set in language settings, isn't really true for all providers. I think some sent the Spanish message out based on demographics. Or sent out to too many because they couldn't figure out what settings are on the phone.

[wishstar]

43. The emergency alerts on TV here in NC are in both English and Spanish

so I would expect many cell phone alerts to also be in both languages.