People will be met with blaring sirens from their mobile phone on Tuesday afternoon as the government tests a new national emergency alarm system.
Authorities will trial a terror alert between 1pm and 2pm and those living in East Suffolk have been picked to try out the tech.
Similar systems already exist in countries such as the Netherlands, US, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea.
It means an alert can be sent to people’s mobile phones when there is a danger to life such as a terror attack, flooding or fire.
If successful, the system will be rolled out across the UK following a second test scheduled for June 15 in Reading.
Alerts will issue a warning, details of the affected area, advice on what to do and a link to more information, according to the Cabinet Office.
“The Emergency Alerts service will be a vital tool in helping us to better respond to emergencies both nationally and locally,” said cabinet office minister Penny Mordaunt.
The Paymaster general added: “The concept was used to good effect during the pandemic when we asked people via text message to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.
“This new system builds on that capability and will allow us to more quickly and effectively get life-saving messages to people across the UK.”
Despite trials in the early 2010s, the UK has never had such a system in place.
However, the decision to forge ahead with the new tech came after the Covid-19 outbreak.
At the start of the pandemic, officials had to rely on mobile phone operators to push messages out to their customers.
While those selected for the trial might be a bit unnerved, officials say no response is needed.
The alert system does not share any personal details such as phone numbers and ensures no additional strain is added to telecoms networks, they add.
