Blizzard Wireless Emergency Alerts: Why Only Some People Got Them - ABC News

Sign of the times

"Those notifications, similar to ones issued during Hurricane Sandy, were what FEMA and the FCC call Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEAs. They were designed to alert people via their phones about three types of emergencies -- imminent threats (including extreme or severe weather), AMBER alerts, and presidential alerts issued by the White House. The alerts, which are not done via text message, were launched last year in many parts of the country and in May 2012 came to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and other carriers.
[...]
Guttman-McCabe said users can disable the imminent and AMBER alerts, but not the presidential ones."

Blizzard Wireless Emergency Alerts: Why Only Some People Got Them - ABC News