Ajit Karn
The British government announced on Sunday that a siren-like alert will be sent to mobile phone users across the country next month to test a new public warning system for life-threatening events such as severe weather.
On the early evening of Sunday, April 23, a nationwide notifications test will occur, and individuals will receive a test message on their mobile phones.
The government has stated that the new Emergency Alerts will be used infrequently, and only when there is an imminent threat to people’s lives, so people may not receive one for months or even years.
Terror alerts, which are not presently covered, could be added to the list of prospective incidents that could elicit an alert in the future.
Oliver Dowden, a Cabinet Office minister, stated, “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system to deal with a wide range of threats, from flooding to wildfires.”
“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in imminent peril and assist us in keeping people secure. As we’ve seen in the United States and elsewhere, a phone call can save a life,” he said.
Working with mobile broadcasting technology, the Cabinet Office stated that the Emergency Alerts system will transform the United Kingdom’s warning and informing capabilities, delivering urgent messages to nearly 90 percent of mobile phones in a defined area and providing clear instructions on how best to respond.
The nationwide implementation follows successful experiments in East Suffolk and Reading as part of a plan to combat a “constantly evolving” array of threats.
The UK Cabinet Office stated, “The alerts will only ever come from the government or emergency services, and they will issue a warning, always include details of the affected area, and provide instructions on how best to respond – linking to gov.uk/alerts where people can obtain additional information.”
The service has been utilised in a number of other nations, including the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan, where it has been extensively attributed with saving lives, for instance during severe weather events.
Mark Hardingham, chair of the UK’s National Fire Chiefs Council, stated, “Together with every fire and rescue service in the country, I look forward to having Emergency Alerts available to help us do our jobs and assist communities in the event of an emergency.”
“We’ve seen this type of system in action elsewhere in the world, and we look forward to implementing it in the United Kingdom – by collaborating with fire services and partners, we want this system to help us keep you as safe as possible in the event of a crisis,” he said.
The alerts, which are transmitted from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency, are “secure, free to receive, and one-way.” They do not disclose anyone’s location or collect personal information, and only authorised government and emergency services users can send alerts, according to the government.
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The Environment Agency’s Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management, Caroline Douglass, emphasised the importance of being able to communicate warnings in a timely and accurate manner during incidents in order to help people protect themselves, their families, and their neighbours.
She stated, “Emergency Alerts is a fantastic addition to our emergency preparedness toolkit.”
Emergency Alerts will be implemented in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with an initial emphasis on the most severe weather-related incidents, such as flooding in England.
The British government stated that it has collaborated closely with a variety of stakeholders and partners throughout the United Kingdom, including counterparts from the emergency services, transportation groups, and the Environment Agency, to develop the system.
