UK to test national mobile phone emergency alert system

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Following successful pilots, a UK-wide test of the Emergency Alerts system will take place on April 23, the government said on Thursday.

Emergency Alerts aims to inform people about immediate risk to life by sending an alert directly to mobile phones, the Cabinet Office said in a statement.

“Emergency Alerts enable urgent messages to be broadcast to a defined area when there is an imminent risk to life, such as wildfires or severe flooding,” read the statement.

A message will be received on 4G and 5G mobile phones, along with sound and vibration for up to 10 seconds.

“Getting this system operational with the national test means we have another tool in our toolkit to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies. It could be the sound that saves your life,” said Oliver Dowden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The statement said the Emergency Alerts system has already been used successfully in various countries such as the US, Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan.

The countrywide test in the UK is set for 3 p.m. (1400GMT) on April 23.