Public Emergency Alerts

Launch of life-saving public emergency alerts

A new system that gives the Government and emergency services the capability to send emergency alerts has been launched. The system is designed to bolster the UK’s resilience and provides the capability to send alerts direct to mobile phones when there is a risk to life. 

A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday 23 April.
Working with mobile broadcasting technology, the Emergency Alerts system will transform the UK’s warning and informing capability, providing a means to get urgent messages quickly to nearly 90 percent of mobile phones in a defined area.

The alerts will only ever come from the Government or emergency services, and warnings issued will issue a warning, always include the details of the area impacted, and provide instructions about how best to respond - linking to gov.uk/alerts where people can receive further information.
Emergency Alerts will be used very rarely - only being sent where there is an immediate risk to people’s lives - so people may not receive an alert for months, or even years.
Read the news story on GOV.UK

The charity Refuge has also shared advice on how people experiencing domestic abuse can manage the emergency alerts on their phone to stay safe.