I’ve turned my emergency alert off because I’m such a rebel!

[StupidFaces]

Urgh

Facebook … numerous posts over the last days consisting of:

“EMERGENCY ALERT SWITCHED OFF!!”

“Leaving my emergency alert on so I can reply and tell them to go and fuck themselves!”

“Remember everyone, emergency alerts can and should be switched off by tomorrow!”

“That’s my emergency alert turned off lol”

Why??? What’s so big and clever about turning the alert off? Don’t people realise that most countries have had this for years? Turning it off doesn’t make you Billy Big Bollocks and boasting about it just makes you look stupid!

YABU - I’ve turned mine off and I’m proud of it! Down with the establishment!

YANBU - people are ridiculous

move uphill
30 miles will not be far enough if a major tsunami hits the SW UK, but you will have a comparatively long time of warning, several hours, probably

I don't care whether people have it on or off. It's the announcing on social media and then thinking they are a rebel or going on to moan about government control and various conspiracy theories and how 'awake' they are, how 'free thinking they are' and how people who leave it on must be 'asleep', 'unaware', 'not done their research' or 'sheeple'. It's always the same sort of people posting this nonsense too.

I try to ignore them

@Qilin Well the WhatsApp messages showing and proving how the Government use fear were in the press six/seven weeks ago. a. Actions have consequences. b the publics collective memory isnt as short as people think

I suspect you live where I do! I'd just made plans to meet someone at the park that attack took place at - an alert would stop people going to into an area. If you've got a knifeman running around, getting as many people away lowers the risk of further casualties/fatalities or, at the very least, there's fewer people for the police to have to deal with.

We have already had the alert tested here and it wasn't a problem. I also grew up in an area where there were regular alerts about escapes from the nearby psychiatric hospital - they tested the alarms every Monday morning and if they went off at any other time then you had to stay inside and keep doors/windows locked.

I don't remember anyone thinking this was a conspiracy plot (probably because it's not) or anything other than a system designed to keep people safe. And while I'm generally no fan of the current political administration, if they didn't implement this alert system there'd be people up in arms saying, "Other countries have these alerts, why don't we? Bloody Tories, leaving everyone to die!"

Headlines like " Wrexham man finds meteorite 'worth £100,000' after spotting 'huge fireball' pass his house ( Daily Express last year) may well lead a lot of people to believe differently.

Some types of meteor are very valuable indeed.

Absolutely, if some people are turning the alerts off because they distrust the government, really who can blame them? Most of what they say is lies.

I think there a lot of people in society that are showing paranoia. Increase in mental ill health maybe. Increase in online time. Tic Toc or YouTube videos that spread fear? I feel for the people that are genuinely fearful of everything 'government'.

well, it doesnt really matter anyway. people can rush towards it all they like, amount of warning is going to vary, but not be more than a few minutes. By the time treasure hunters arrive, the meteor will be done and the flying glass settled.

Government history of lies and intentionally creating fear, social isolation from lockdowns, combined with fuck all access to mental health services.

"absolute nonsense, you have no idea what you are talking about. Many meteorites arrive with no warning at all, and many with limited warning. There are millions of near earth objects, they cant all be tracked and predicted perfectly"

You are a bit of an annoying Mr Know it all

@Okunevo @JenniferBooth

But other countries have a similar system. So are all governments everywhere lying to
their people. Or is it an alert that most countries globally are now using to warn of floods or potentially life threatening situations?

Portugal has the Fogos.pt app widely used. Sorry to hear you experienced that, its one of the reasons we left and didn't buy a place.
Wildfire severity in Portugal compared to UK tho, is so extremely different, UK is pretty much non existent.

well, maybe, but there are things I do know a lot about. And things I know nothing about. But meteors are something I know a lot about

Y'all are a hoot!

(I wish Americans could muster up this level of outrage in response to the monthly active shooter drills in their schools.)

I'm talking about previous government lies over the past three years that have lead to distrust, not about this alert.

You're a typical narrow-minded man who thinks his opinion is always right

Plenty of time though to rush to your window to watch it land......!!

The one and only example I've read here that would have had any real value in the UK is the Grenfell Tower one.

We have no tsunami warning systems here to give advance notice and evacuating somewhere like London to a safe distance is impossible even with them. Roads would gridlock instantly if people were told to stay inside and go upstairs with the result that many would be trapped in cars when it hit.

My dads view on turning his off was "well if Putin is going to press a red button what's an alert going to do? Give me enough time to put my head between my knees and kiss my arse goodbye"..... he kind of has a point..

😂…and we have a baby on the way

I think it’s a case of : the government are conspiring against us and sending alerts to our phones for nefarious reasons.

And then in a life threatening situation the very same people would be saying : why didn’t the government warn us? They are conspiring against us for nefarious reasons.

hello! We def do live in the same place! I will be interested to see if reactions are different here because of the previous test (which a lot of people did know about at the time)

I’ve put my phone down somewhere in the house and can’t find it.

For the first time in 13 years, the govt are doing something useful.

Bring on 3pm.

1. meteorites sometimes strike with no warning but often with some warning, the bigger it is the longer the warning is likely to be
2. the biggest danger in a meteorite strike is flying glass, see the link I gave earlier of an estimated 1000 people injured by flying glass in a meteorite strike about 10 years ago.
3. Those people had no warning system, These days, not only would that meteorite have had around 10 minutes warning or more, but those people could have had the warning through their phones
4. Going inside and keeping away from windows, for example by sitting in an upstairs hall with all the doors closed would have saved those people from injury

Please explain to me which of these statements is "opinion"?

none of these statements are opinions, they are all accurate and factual

we needed this in the UK during the wild fires last summer, people were in danger through lack of information and warnings, and next year we might not get away with it so lightly

I don’t care.