At 3pm on Sunday 23 April, there will be a national test of the UK Emergency Alerts service. As we have seen in other countries, Emergency Alerts help keep you safe if there is an immediate risk to life by sending an alert direct to your mobile phone.
A siren will go off on nearly every smartphone in the UK on Sunday 23 April.
The 10 seconds of sound and vibration at 15:00 BST will test a new emergency alerts system.
The alert system will be used to warn of extreme weather events, such as flash floods or wildfires.
It could also be used during terror incidents or civil defence emergencies if the UK was under attack.
We have already done two very large tests which worked well and the various problems and concerns going around did not
materialise.
Many other countries also use the same technology and we have learnt from their experiences.
If people don’t want to receive the one off national test they can either 1) turn off their phone (we will announce the exact time this week so they can turn it off just before that on 23rd April) or 2) at any point over the next three weeks turn off emergency alerts in their settings which is very easy to do.
For reassurance for you and your family- it is a short alarm, no louder than a phone ringing or alarm clock that stops after 10 seconds without doing anything.
https://www.gov.uk/.../time-set-for-uk-emergency-alerts-test
