At 3:00 p.m. this Sunday, an alarm, like a siren, will sound on cellphones in the UK. The government will test a new warning system which aims to warn the public in emergency situations such as fires, floods or in the event of danger to life. This alert system launched by the government is inspired by existing systems in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan. It will send messages to mobile phones to quickly warn the public in case of danger. The government assured that the device would be used in an exceptional way.
“Wherever you are, this Sunday at 3:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. in Paris) you will receive the emergency alert,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. “You will receive a message on your mobile phone screen, accompanied by sound and vibration for up to ten seconds. You will have no action to take,” he added.
The 10 second alarm will ring even if the phones are in silent mode. “Keep calm and carry on” is just a test, “said the government in response to criticism, using the famous British motto of the Second World War. The Daily Mail headlined on Tuesday: “What genius thought it was a good idea to terrify the whole country at 3:00 p.m. Sunday?”.
Drivers have been warned not to pick up their phones during the test, and people who don’t want to receive the alerts can turn them off in their device settings. World Snooker Championship organizers have warned they will take a break just before 3:00 p.m. to avoid the alert disrupting the competition, which is being held in Sheffield, northern England. London theaters will ask spectators to turn off their phones so that the alarm does not sound in the middle of a show. Similar messages should be shown in cinemas.
For Judy Edworthy, international expert in alarm systems and professor of psychology at the University of Plymouth (south of England), the alert system is a positive development, even if its first broadcast may surprise. If, during the alert, “people look at their phones, read the message and act on it, we can say that it will have worked”, she told the British agency PA.
