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Original poster

Emergency alerts to your phone

333 replies

TheFirstOfHerName · 19/03/2023 02:27

From April, the government will be able to send emergency alerts to our mobile phones.

www.gov.uk/alerts

A siren will go off, even if your phone is on silent. You won't be able to do anything else on your phone until you turn it off. They plan to test this on 23 April.

I understand the reasons why this can be helpful, and in areas where people need to suddenly evacuate due to wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes etc it could save lives.

However, personally I don't want it, and have disabled it on my phone.

  1. Of the emergencies I might experience, I'm not sure I'd want to be alerted to any of them via this method. If a flood or storm is imminent, I'll find out through the usual channels. If a nuclear missile is heading my way, having a few minutes' warning will not help.
  1. This system is being run / overseen by the UK government, and my trust in them has been somewhat eroded over the past few years.
  1. I have an anxiety disorder (reasonably well managed with combination of medication and other methods) and I think the cost to my anxiety levels of having my phone suddenly sirenning at me outweighs the negligible probability of this system saving my life.
If you are the kind of calm, resilient person who could have these alarms going off and it not completely throw you, then great.
OP posts:
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5
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/03/2023 10:13

Do they go off in the night @ChilliHeelerFanClub? I appreciate the flash flooding one could be useful but I'd only want to be notified of threats to life during the night!

Caramac555 · 19/03/2023 10:14

Experienced this whilst living in NZ, often it was just a nudge that there could potentially be an issue an you should check the news to see if you might be affected.

WandaWonder · 19/03/2023 10:16

I think it's a good idea anxiety should not be used every time something shouldn't happen

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 19/03/2023 10:18

We had US numbers last summer and found the warnings very useful. Especially flash floods when we were going hiking.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/03/2023 10:21

WandaWonder · 19/03/2023 10:16

I think it's a good idea anxiety should not be used every time something shouldn't happen

No but there should be an option to opt out easily or not have the siren going off. My Mum would never have coped with this, she would have panicked ever time it went off. She was nearly blind so wouldn't have been able to read the alert and wouldn't have coped.

OneFrenchEgg · 19/03/2023 10:22

Can't find any relevant settings in iPhone

LakieLady · 19/03/2023 10:25

Thriwit · 19/03/2023 09:34

I was just reading about this, tbh my first thought was that it was for missile warnings.

We just don’t really have that many natural disasters in the U.K. The EA already have flood alerts.

I can really see the usefulness for floods. Part of our town is prone to flooding, and a couple of villages upstream flood quite frequently. But people who live in those areas are mostly signed up to the existing EA flood warning and get them anyway. That gives them a warning wherever they are, so people can get back to move precious stuff upstairs, grab an overnight bag in case they have to evacuate etc.

Knowing the uselessness of the govt, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the warning was sent to the whole town, even the bits that are 2 miles from the river and 300' above sea level.

Still, I suppose it would give me a chance to get the spare room ready for friends who are flooded out, and people to leave and get home in case they get stranded here.

Whiteroomjoy · 19/03/2023 10:25

BelindaBears · 19/03/2023 09:29

I’ve turned it off on my phone. I don’t live in a flood risk area, we don’t really get earthquakes/tornadoes/tsunamis in the UK and if there’s a nuclear strike incoming I don’t have a bunker and we’re all fucked anyway.

Actually, we DO get earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis in the uk….earthquakes anc tornadoes are quite common. Just not very severe .
even tsunamis- in 1755 a 3 m tsunami in Cornwall caused by a Lisbon earthquake , it took a whole village with it.
sorry, just wanted to point this out

endoftheworldniteclub · 19/03/2023 10:26

Where I live we’ve had it for years. You receive a text with a special sound, not a siren. It alerts you of things nearby like a fire, car accidents and anything else that could be important. You can also call emergencies on the app, and they will immediately see your GPS coordinates. It’s great.

BelindaBears · 19/03/2023 10:28

Whiteroomjoy · 19/03/2023 10:25

Actually, we DO get earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis in the uk….earthquakes anc tornadoes are quite common. Just not very severe .
even tsunamis- in 1755 a 3 m tsunami in Cornwall caused by a Lisbon earthquake , it took a whole village with it.
sorry, just wanted to point this out

Show quote history

We don’t get them severely enough to warrant an emergency alert. I’ve been well informed of severe weather events that do happen here, like winter storms, by other sources. The fact your tsunami example is from 1755 suggests this is not a common enough experience for me to bother having the alert function on my phone, especially since I live up a hill.

endoftheworldniteclub · 19/03/2023 10:29

kitsuneghost · 19/03/2023 09:55

Gives people time to get their make up done and phone out to record it all on tiktok

Show quote history

😂😂

BellatrixLestrangesHeatedCurlers · 19/03/2023 10:29

OneFrenchEgg · 19/03/2023 10:22

Can't find any relevant settings in iPhone

Mine is Settings > Notifications > scroll down and turn off Extreme and Severe notifications

greenacrylicpaint · 19/03/2023 10:30

where I am you can't turn it off unless you switch your phone off completely.

TeeBee · 19/03/2023 10:36

I'll be turning it off.

OneFrenchEgg · 19/03/2023 10:40

@BellatrixLestrangesHeatedCurlers thanks I got to Notifications and didn't scroll past E!

Harebrain · 19/03/2023 10:40

Thank you for the warning op, I’ve just switched the alerts off & warned all my friends & family.

kitsuneghost · 19/03/2023 10:42

I'm taking out shares in traditional alarm clocks. We will all be switching off our phones at night so we aren't woken at 3am with a notification of a missing mutt

ExpatInSlavikLand · 19/03/2023 10:46

Messyplayallday · 19/03/2023 02:57

We have this in the US where I am and it alerts when a child is missing including a car description and plate if needed. Also if vulnerable people are missing eg elderly with dementia or similar. Other alerts might go off such as weather warnings and fire tracking (I live near yearly forest fires, we have snow and avalanches that sometimes come close to roads and also last few years horrifically hot summer).
It only notifies in our specific area though, not the whole of our state so it’s relevant and not continuous.

Its a good system here so hopefully it’ll work well in the UK too

That's a very good system - wish they had it here, especially as we get lots of floods, high winds and extreme weather, and just happen to border Ukraine...

SecretCoconut · 19/03/2023 10:47

Forgive me for not reading the full thread but I have a question. My grandmother is in her 90s and virtually bed bound. She lives alone with carers twice a day. Her mobile phone is the most basic you can get - calls and texts only in massive font size. Will this type of phone receive these siren alerts?

Buzzinwithbez · 19/03/2023 10:54

I've turned it off. We live in an area that doesn't suffer from the three scenarios mentioned.

I can't think of a scenario that falls between, yes I've looked out the window and can see it's a bit windy and oh shit too late.

DontSetYourselfOnFireToKeepOthersWarm · 19/03/2023 10:55

I was vaguely aware of this kind of system from American TV shows but hadn't really thought about it properly until now. Makes you wonder what else the government can do with our phones that we weren't aware of. If they can disable them until you press a button, can they just disable them full stop? Actually, thinking about that kind of stuff they can already do, I suppose the question should really be, 'what can't they do with our phones'?

PlateBilledDuckyPerson · 19/03/2023 10:59

SecretCoconut · 19/03/2023 10:47

Forgive me for not reading the full thread but I have a question. My grandmother is in her 90s and virtually bed bound. She lives alone with carers twice a day. Her mobile phone is the most basic you can get - calls and texts only in massive font size. Will this type of phone receive these siren alerts?

No, it won't - they only work on i-phone or Android phones on 4 or 5g.

PennyRa · 19/03/2023 11:06

They already do this ...

EmilyGilmoresSass · 19/03/2023 11:10

I think it is a good idea. I'd be hopeful that something similar could be set up if anyone goes missing in the local area, like the Amber Alert system in America.

Caramac555 · 19/03/2023 11:12

I just think that I'm either at work in an open plan office, or with other people in shops or at activities with other people, or at home where there are 4 mobile phones. The chances of me not hearing the siren are minimal. I'm assuming when I'm in the car it would broadcast over the radio or be on overhead motorway signs anyway so I'm not going to be in blissful ignorance for long