A test of a new siren-like alarm will go live next month on mobile phones nationwide, as the government launches a new emergency system.
The system is due to go live on April 23rd and will give the government and emergency services the ability to send a signal to phones, causing a loud alarm, the phone to vibrate and a message notification to appear on home screens.
The alerts will be used very sparingly however and only when there is a risk to people’s lives, with the new system being able to send localised alerts specific to the area.
Personal privacy will not be affected, as the alerts do not collect any personal data or reveal anyone’s location.
Oliver Dowden MP, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said in a statement launching the system, “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats – from flooding to wildfires.
“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we’ve seen in the US and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life.”
The emergency alarm has already been tested in Reading and East Suffolk, where a survey conducted afterwards found that 88% of people wanted to continue to receive alerts in the future.
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