Send a test alert to target COGs

Log in to the 

BlackBerry AtHoc

 management system with an administrator account.

Do one of the following:

On the 
BlackBerry AtHoc
 home page, in the Quick Publish section, click 
Create a Blank Alert
.
In the navigation bar, click 
Alerts
 > 
New Alert
. On the 
New Alert
 screen, click an existing alert to edit an alert template or click 
Create a Blank Alert
.

On the 

New Alert

 screen, in the 

Content

 section, enter the title and content of the alert.

Select the severity and type of the alert.

In the 

Mass Devices

 section, select 

IPAWS Cap Exchange

 and then from the list select one or more COGs.

On the 

Mass Devices

 section, click 

Options

.

On the 

Mass Devices Options

 screen, complete the following steps:

From the 
Event Type
 list, select the 
FEMA event type
 to be used for the alert.
Optionally, select a severity from the 
Severity
 list. The default is Severe.
Optionally select a certainty from the 
Certainty
 list. The default is Observed.
Optionally, select an urgency from the 
Urgency
 list. The default is Immediate.
In the 
IPAWS Alert Content
 section, select the 
Alert Title and Body
 to use the content that you specified in the 
Content
 section.

If you are sending an alert to multiple audiences, you might want to customize the text for the FEMA recipient. For example, you can send an alert to your emergency team with instructions for handling the emergency. If you also include a COG, you might want to alert them to the situation without providing instructions. In this case, select 

Custom Text

 and then provide alert text that is appropriate for COG alerts.

Click 

Apply

.

Click 

Review & Publish

 to review the alert.

Click 

Publish

 to send the alert.