Emergency alert system to be launched

The government has announced the launch of a UK Emergency Alert System with the capability to send alerts direct to mobile phones when there is a risk to life.

The system will be able to send urgent messages to nearly 90 per cent of mobile phone in a defined area and provide clear instructions about how best to respond.

The system has already been successfully test in East Suffolk and Reading and will now be rolled out across the country.

A country-wide test alert will take place on the evening of Sunday 23 April.

The texts will come from the Government or emergency services, will issue a warning, include details of the area impacted and provide instructions on how best to respond.

The alerts will be used when there is an immediate risk to people's lives.

Announcing the launch of the new alerts system, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden MP, said: "We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats - from flooding to wild fires.

"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 U.S. and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life."

Examples of when the alerts may be used include most serious severe weather-related incidents, such as flooding or wildfires.

Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Mark Hardingham, said: "Together with every fire and rescue service in the country, I’m looking forward to having Emergency Alerts available to help us to do our jobs and to help communities in the event of emergencies.

"We’ve seen this type of system in action elsewhere across the world and we look forward to having the facility here in the UK - by working together with fire services and partners we want this system to help us to help you be as safe as you can if a crisis does hit.

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