UK citizens will soon receive emergency alerts on their mobile phones as the government prepares for the first nationwide test of the new public warning system on Sunday, April 23, The Guardian reports.
The system is designed to broadcast urgent messages during disasters such as severe flooding, fires, or extreme weather.
4G/5G Mobile Device to Sound Alarms
The United Kingdom government unveiled its Emergency Alert System in June 2021. The UK Emergency Alert System can send loud sirens even if your Android device is in silent mode.
Similar systems already exist in other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan. In the UK, the system has already been tested in East Suffolk and Reading, but this is the first time the entire country will receive an alarm.
Mobiles with a 4G or 5G signal will emit a loud siren-like sound, receive a message on their home screen and vibrate for up to 10 seconds. The new system is part of the government's efforts to increase public safety during emergencies.
Life-Saving Emergency Alerts
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, said that the system's test would give the government another tool to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies. "It could be the sound that saves your life," he added.
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The Guardian tells us that the government faced criticism during the pandemic for lagging behind other countries in technology and repeatedly ignoring its findings that an emergency messaging system could help Britain in a time of crisis.
Countries such as the Netherlands and South Korea used alerts to control the spread of Covid-19.
In the United States, the WEA system has been used over 70,000 times to alert the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations - all via alerts on compatible cell phones and other mobile devices.
The national test comes ten years after the Cabinet Office conducted its first successful trials. In 2013, the government concluded that "not only would alerts be seen as a useful service by the public but also an effective way of getting people to take specific protective action during an emergency."
Public Announcement
The chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Mark Hardingham, urged everyone to play their part in using the new emergency alerts system.
"For 10 seconds, the national test may be inconvenient for some, but please forgive us for the intrusion because the next time you hear it - your life, and the life-saving actions of our emergency services, could depend on it," he said.
The new system is vital to the UK's emergency response infrastructure. In the past, the country has faced challenges in delivering timely and effective emergency messages to the public.
If you are curious about how the alert will sound, the Cabinet Office posted it on Twitter.
According to the office, emergency alerts will appear on your device's home screen, and you will hear a loud siren-like sound and feel a vibration for up to 10 seconds.
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