A new system that will give the Government and emergency services the ability to send alerts directly to mobile phones will see a "siren" message sent out later this month.
Emergency Alerts have already been used successfully in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives, for example, during severe weather events. In the UK, alerts could be used to tell residents of villages being encroached by wildfires, or of severe flooding, the Government has said.
The Cabinet Office said the alerts system will "transform the UK’s warning and informing capability", meaning urgent messages can be quickly sent to almost 90% of mobile phones in any defined area.
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The Government said 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.
The Government has worked together with the emergency services and partners, including the Football Association and London Marathon, to make sure the national test has minimum impact on major events taking place on the day.
People will receive the test alert at 3pm on Sunday, April 23. The test will appear on your device just as a real alert would, and you will hear an alarm and vibration for up to 10 seconds.
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