If you watched tv in New Mexico back in 2013, you might have heard a very WEIRD zombie EAS alert. If you've ever watched television or listened to the radio, you've heard one before. You might not know what it was called, but you've definitely heard it. Although there was one time where a TV station in New Mexico; KENW in Portales, got an EAS alert about a zombie apocalypse.

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What does an EAS sound like?

If you need a reminder on what it is, here's your standard Emergency Alert System (or EAS) alert.

There's many different ones around the country & the world that sound different, but that's the normal sound of one. Usually it's followed by someone saying "this is only a test" or something along that. Unless there was an actual emergency...

The 2013 New Mexico Zombie EAS Alert

It was over 10 years ago, Feb 11th, 2013, that at least 5 states: Montana, Michigan, California, Utah & New Mexico all experienced an EAS alert on local TV stations warning people about a zombie apocalypse.

But this wasn't a test; someone hacked into several different television broadcasts successfully. There's currently no footage of the alert happening on KENW in Portales, New Mexico but the news reports did confirm that they received something very similar to the one that started in Great Falls, Michigan.

So what did it sound like?

Here's the one that sounded in Montana,

And to further confirm that it DID reach New Mexico, the story was covered on the very next day on KRQE in Albuquerque. They even confirmed the time on when the alert occurred.

Who did it?

While the reports are conflicting on whether or not the person who did was caught, there are reports that say HOW the person managed to hack the fake zombie alert. We also know WHERE the opening line came from: it was an Anthrax song called "Fight Em 'Til You Can't" from their album Worship Music.

So far New Mexico has yet to see anything like this again. Hopefully we don't again either. But if Texas were to experience something like this, at least we will be prepared.

EDIT: This post was originally published on March 21, 2023

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