The UK government has announced that it will be carrying out a test of its emergency alert system. This system sends a message to mobile phones, if there is a life-threatening situation in the local area. There will be a test of the system at 3pm on Sunday 23 April and you will receive this on your mobile phone (as long as it is compatible with the system).
The emergency alert system is a government service, which has been set up to warn people of life-threatening emergencies such as severe flooding, fire or extreme weather. Alerts will only be sent by the emergency services, government departments or agencies and public bodies who deal with such situations. This is not a BU system.
In an emergency, mobile phone masts in the surrounding area will broadcast an alert. Every compatible mobile phone or tablet in range of a mast will receive the alert. You do not need to sign up for the alerts and you do not need to be connected to wi-fi or mobile data to receive them. You can find out more information about the alerts on the gov.uk website. You can also watch this short video.
As long as you have a compatible mobile phone, you will receive the alerts. There are a few exceptions to this, such as if your phone is switched off or in airplane mode at the time of the alert. You can find out more information, including if you have a compatible device on the gov.uk website.
The government has said it is testing the alert system at 3pm on Sunday 23 April. When you receive the test alert, you do not need to take any action and can continue as you were. Simply switch off the test alert on your mobile.
The test alert message will read:
If you have any concerns about the emergency alert test on 23 April, please contact AskBU beforehand for assistance. Please note, in the event of a genuine Emergency Alert, the BU Major Incident Group will lead BU's response as required.
