Maggie Throup, Member of Parliament for Erewash, has welcomed the launch of the Emergency Alerts Programme.
The UK Government has worked with Mobile Network Operators to establish a UK-wide Emergency Alert capability using cell broadcasting technology.
This will allow emergency responders and Government agencies to send Emergency Alerts, containing life-saving actions for the public, to compatible mobile devices.
The system went live on Sunday 19th March and a UK-wide test message will take place on Sunday 23rd April. This will involve your mobile phone or tablet emitting a 10 second sound alert and displaying an emergency alert message on your home screen, which will remain displayed until dismissed.
Maggie said: “I welcome the launch of the Emergency Alerts Programme. The purpose of these alerts is to help save lives in emergency situations by issuing a warning and clear instructions about how best to respond. For example, you may receive an alert about severe flooding, fires or extreme weather.
“I would like to remind Erewash residents that a full UK-wide test will take place on Sunday 23rd April. I have been assured by my Ministerial colleagues that Emergency Alerts require no personal information such as telephone number, identity or location. Additionally, Emergency Alerts are one-way and do not provide any feedback on the recipients’ location or whether they have received an alert.”
Similar capabilities have been adopted by many countries internationally as an alerting capability. These countries include the United States, Netherlands, Canada, South Korea and Japan.