Secretary of State Blinken joked about Russian friends after test alarm
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joked about his Russian friends after his speech was interrupted by a test alarm. The incident occurred during his speech at the University of Texas at Austin.
It could be Russian friends trying to interrupt us
The notification came to the phones of those gathered at the moment when the official was talking about the current situation in Ukraine. Blinken also expressed joy that the national warning system was working.
The systems were checked in two stages
Previously the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned Americans that the country will undergo a nationwide review of emergency warning systems. The verification consisted of two stages.
As part of the first one, emergency alerts were sent to mobile phones. At the same time, the messages noted that this was testing the system and no action needed to be taken. The second stage included broadcasting a similar message on radio and television.
A similar check took place in Russia
A test of public warning systems on October 4 also took place in Russia. Sirens and loudspeakers sounded throughout the country. The Ministry of Emergency Situations explained the need for this by checking the warning systems at the regional and municipal levels. The department also urged residents to remain calm when they hear the beeps.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov noted that similar exercises are regularly held in other countries. He cited Japan as an example. Inspections there are associated with increased seismological hazard.
It’s not only appropriate, it’s necessary.
At the same time, Peskov refrained from assessing measures to check warning systems. “This matter should be handled by professionals, and it is they who perform their function,” the Kremlin representative concluded.
Earlier, for the first time, Russian schools held exercises to practice actions in emergency situations. During the events, the functionality of the warning systems was checked, and joint actions were worked out with operational services and anti-terrorism commissions.
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