First EVER National Emergency Test

Today at 1PM there is going to be a National Emergency Test.  It will be the first time ever the entire system will be tested simultaneously.

WASHINGTON — From the television blaring at a West Palm Beach sports bar to the island radio station in American Samoa, broadcast channels across the United States and its territories will take a 30-second break from programming at 2 p.m. Wednesday to run the first national test of the Emergency Alert System.

The broadcast system has been tested on the local and state level thousands of times, but never before have government agencies and broadcasters coordinated to see if there are any gaps in the system that could be used to warn the entire populace in a catastrophic event.

Federal officials envision the alert being employed for a large-scale regional disaster or for a national event, such as a nuclear disaster or attack, a pandemic or "something that's going to affect a lot of people pretty quickly," according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Here;  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/tv-and-radio-broadcasts-will-halt-for-the-1957668.html?cxtype=rss_news

I wonder what we are being prepared for?...a nuclear missile from Iran?...a huge meteor heading for earth?....a huge pandemic or Ebola or swine flu?...an alien invasion?...a huge solar storm that would wipe out electric grids?

It is interesting to ponder why they decided that TODAY is going to be the day to test the nation-wide system for the FIRST TIME EVER.  Why didn't they do it 5 years ago?  Why not 20 years ago?  Why today??