Systems and methods for providing alerts to end users of networked enabled portable devices are provided so that the end users are made aware when broadcast emergency alerts are issued. The systems and methods provide a way for a portable device to receive information about an emergency alert broadcast of which the user should be aware, e.g., from the EAS, and to notify the user of the emergency alert. A flag provides an indication the EAS should be on and the systems and method override the settings made by a user to a portable device to enable EAS reception. The user may then be automatically taken to the emergency alert information by having the portable device automatically tune to the emergency broadcast information, or the user may optionally retrieve the emergency information by tuning to the emergency broadcast channel, or the user may otherwise be presented with a reference to the emergency data (e.g., a link to the information).