EMERGENCY ALERT UK TEST SUNDAY

The Government has officially released the text to be used for public testing on its national emergency alert system. At 3pm on Sunday, April 23rd mobile devices UK-wide will receive a message for up to 10 seconds that reads: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will inform you if there’s an emergency posing a threat to life in your area. If a real emergency does occur, follow the instructions from the alert to stay safe and help keep those around you safe too.” This alert serves as an important tool for improving safety and should not be ignored in cases of potential danger.

For the test, the public does not need to take any action - the sound and vibration will stop automatically after ten seconds. All people need to do is swipe away the message or click ‘OK’ on their phone’s home screen - just like for a ‘low battery’ warning or notification - and continue to use their phone as normal.

Best practice of Emergency Alerts in other countries have shown that they work more effectively when there is a real emergency if people have previously received a test, so they know what an alert looks and sounds like.

Emergency Alerts have already been used successfully in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives, for example, during severe weather events. In the UK, alerts could be used to tell residents of villages being encroached by wildfires, or of severe flooding.

The Government has worked together with the emergency services and partners, including the Football Association and London Marathon, to make sure the national test has minimum impact on major events taking place on the day.

The Government is dedicated to protecting vulnerable groups from potential negative impacts of the national test, and has thus worked closely with organisations and charities representing them. Women and girls subject to domestic abuse can opt-out of the alert by either turning off Emergency Alerts through phone settings, or by switching their phone off entirely. Transport sector workers such as Highways England have also been consulted so that they are aware of the alert received on phones, following the same protocol as when they receive any other call or message while driving-- to not look at or touch their phone until it is safe to do so.