Don't be alarmed

[karatekid]

The date has been set for the national mobile emergency alert test

Sunday 23rd April @ 15.00

Church services may be interesting at that time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65178240

[Vincent'sCap]

What happens to people with no phone when Trump or Putin presses the big red button or a hurricane is coming do we just sacrifice them?

[Claret Till I Die]

Anybody without a phone in this day & age deserves to be sacrificed

[roperclaret]

My phone is always on silent. How will I know?

[Chester Perry]

Anybody without a phone in this day & age deserves to be sacrificed

a rather ignorant posting forgetting those that are less fortunate in society - we are getting back to the Gary Lineker tweet here - it is probable that more than a million people in this country do not have a phone

[Bosscat]

My phone is always on silent. How will I know?

Even on silent it will go off "loud and proud" where ever you are what ever you are doing warninh you of our impending doom at the mercy of Mother Nature (or Vladimir Putin etc)

[TravisBickle]

That will be interesting if we are at home and 20,000 phones go off

Well. If we can get signal.

[Rowls]

This is the government's latest Chekov's gun.

[randomclaret2]

What happens to people with no phone when Trump or Putin presses the big red button or a hurricane is coming do we just sacrifice them?

Trump ??

[RickyBobby]

I have turned emergency alerts off in my phone, if the end is coming I’d rather not know. I don’t want my last few minutes to be knowing that I and everyone else is about to be vaporised.

[dsr]

Newcastle v Tottenham kicks off at 2 om that day. If anyone is a bit hard of hearing at 2.59, they're going to be stone deaf at 3.01 after 60,000 phones have gone off. These alarms, so they tell me, are designed to wake up the soundest sleeper when just 1 goes off. Put 60,000 in one place people will know about it.

I doubt it will be much fun to be driving on the motorway with family and 4 phones go off all at once without warning. I think that time may be a good time to stop at home!

[gandhisflipflop]

Just turn them off or switch your phone off.

[whiffa]

a rather ignorant posting forgetting those that are less fortunate in society - we are getting back to the Gary Lineker tweet here - it is probable that more than a million people in this country do not have a phone

Agree with the sentiment but I assume at the time of a mass alert TV channels and other media outlets will also be broadcasting a warning, this is just a test for the mobile phone network. It's also slightly ignorant to counter argue people less fortunate cannot be contactable at all, what should the government do otherwise, smoke signals?

[Chester Perry]

Agree with the sentiment but I assume at the time of a mass alert TV channels and other media outlets will also be broadcasting a warning, this is just a test for the mobile phone network. It's also slightly ignorant to counter argue people less fortunate cannot be contactable at all, what should the government do otherwise, smoke signals?

that assumes that people have access to tv as well - the key affordable communication network is FM/AM radio to the broadest span of population. but we have seen the government consider reducing the available bandwidth there so they can sell it for other purposes.

No doubt such an emergency alert system has to cover multiple channels of communication but there are likely to be tens of thousands who cannot be reached.

My issue was with the disrespectful tone and general approach to wishing the end of life to people the poster considers worthless - a veritable Judas to a civilised compassionate society (without the personal payoff) this Maundy Thursday

[Bordeauxclaret]

I doubt it will be much fun to be driving on the motorway with family and 4 phones go off all at once without warning.

Yes it’s terrible that no warnings are been given about this.

[whiffa]

that assumes that people have access to tv as well - the key affordable communication network is FM/AM radio to the broadest span of population. but we have seen the government consider reducing the available bandwidth there so they can sell it for other purposes.

No doubt such an emergency alert system has to cover multiple channels of communication but there are likely to be tens of thousands who cannot be reached.

My issue was with the disrespectful tone and general approach to wishing the end of life to people the poster considers worthless - a veritable Judas to a civilised compassionate society (without the personal payoff) this Maundy Thursday

I wasn't specifically aiming that comment at you Chester apologies, I would however state with some confidence that more people in this country have a TV or a Mobile Phone, than a radio in the 21st century.

I'm not sure the poster above was seriously wishing the end of life of people either, just a poor attempt at a joke. Best to ignore them.

[Fretters]

Yes it’s terrible that no warnings are been given about this.

I know I'll forget, so I'm going to set an alarm for 2:55 to remind me.

[Vincent'sCap]

Trump ??

Yep in true Arnie style
"I'll be back"

God help us

[Quickenthetempo]

I hope some clever hacker can change it to loud sex noises like Gary Lineker had to put up with.

[claretonthecoast1882]

They should play it when the embargo is lifted

[evensteadiereddie]

a rather ignorant posting forgetting those that are less fortunate in society - we are getting back to the Gary Lineker tweet here - it is probable that more than a million people in this country do not have a phone

I think it was a joke.
Made me laugh anyway.

[Cirrus_Minor]

There will be a sizeable minority who will not know what this is and likely cause no end of panic, especially if you are driving.or sleeping or working somewhere critical.

[Vegas Claret]

we have this system over here, it's truly fantastic. It has saved so many people from bad weather events etc, they also use it to alert of missing people etc. Great tool tbh

[dsr]

we have this system over here, it's truly fantastic. It has saved so many people from bad weather events etc, they also use it to alert of missing people etc. Great tool tbh

We don't have many "bad weather events" over here - at least, they're easy to see them coming. Michael Fish's hurricane was 35 years ago and it's still news, and even then it's because he got it wrong(ish). I suppose there might be flash flood warnings, but even then if it's an emergency the message could only be "go upstairs" not "leave the house and get washed away".

You don't need a panic alert to say it might be going to snow - though I bet they send them out, now they have the new toy to play with. They won't get this system without using it to a nonsensical degree.

And it must be very rare that a missing person can be a localised or national emergency for anyone except the family. It's not as if this lady who disappeared (sadly) into the Lune didn't get publicised. Or a missing child will always get publicised. They could just send a normal text message, not an emergency siren.

[dsr]

Yes it’s terrible that no warnings are been given about this.

People will get caught out. By "without warning" I meant there isn't a gentle 10-second countdown before it starts; as I understand it, it will go from quiet to zillions of decibels in a split second. If that's going to happen at 3:00:00, I would like to be braced for it at 2:59:59.

[Devils_Advocate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlE47GckHRA

[THERAT]

Nanny state gone mad.

[Vegas Claret]

We don't have many "bad weather events" over here - at least, they're easy to see them coming. Michael Fish's hurricane was 35 years ago and it's still news, and even then it's because he got it wrong(ish). I suppose there might be flash flood warnings, but even then if it's an emergency the message could only be "go upstairs" not "leave the house and get washed away".

You don't need a panic alert to say it might be going to snow - though I bet they send them out, now they have the new toy to play with. They won't get this system without using it to a nonsensical degree.

And it must be very rare that a missing person can be a localised or national emergency for anyone except the family. It's not as if this lady who disappeared (sadly) into the Lune didn't get publicised. Or a missing child will always get publicised. They could just send a normal text message, not an emergency siren.

Over here these alerts are very localized. You don't get an alert for something in Los Angeles if you grandma is missing in Miami. We only get alerts for things in Vegas, in Dallas we only got alerts for Dallas - I've been over in the US for 14 years or thereabouts, in all that time I bet I've not had more than 5 alerts

[elwaclaret]

Mr Putin…. You know you were thinking… well wouldn’t this be the best time to do it?

[TheFamilyCat]

Slap bang in the middle of the World Snooker Championship. Referee will have his work cut out asking the punters to turn their mobiles off.

[4midable]

The date has been set for the national mobile emergency alert test

Sunday 23rd April @ 15.00

Church services may be interesting at that time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65178240

At 3pm in church.

Be all shut up by then

[fatboy47]

Experienced this on some or other Greek island, one evening late last summer...apparently the harbinger of some or other imminent weather event as I found out the following morning.

If indeed there was a significant event, (storm?torrential rain?plague of frogs?) I must have slept through it undisturbed.

[dsr]

Over here these alerts are very localized. You don't get an alert for something in Los Angeles if you grandma is missing in Miami. We only get alerts for things in Vegas, in Dallas we only got alerts for Dallas - I've been over in the US for 14 years or thereabouts, in all that time I bet I've not had more than 5 alerts

I don't want an alert in Colne if Grandma is missing in Colne. If she's my Grandma, I would know, and if she's someone else's Grandma, how will it help her or me if I know about it?

If it's localised as in "flash floods expected in Sebastopol Terrace", fine. If it's "heavy rain expected in the north of England", it's worse than useless.

What sort of thing were your alerts about?

[LoveCurryPies]

23 April is William Shakespeare’s birthday and sadly the date he died at 52.

However, life expectancy was around 40 in those times.

Anyway, this government text will probably be much about nothing.

[Vegas Claret]

I don't want an alert in Colne if Grandma is missing in Colne. If she's my Grandma, I would know, and if she's someone else's Grandma, how will it help her or me if I know about it?

If it's localised as in "flash floods expected in Sebastopol Terrace", fine. If it's "heavy rain expected in the north of England", it's worse than useless.

What sort of thing were your alerts about?

this was the alert I was most grateful for https://youtu.be/WABqwKjQM_c?t=102

[IanMcL]

That will be interesting if we are at home and 20,000 phones go off

Well. If we can get signal.

Bloody hell! You have a lot of phones in your house! Party?

[ClaretinJapan]

Does it warn of a heat stroke risk when the mercury is set to rise to 21 degrees C?

I altered my earthquake alarm so it doesn't go off for anything under 5, got fed up of it going off.

[dsr]

this was the alert I was most grateful for https://youtu.be/WABqwKjQM_c?t=102

That's pretty much what I'm on about. Extreme weather alert systems are very useful in areas where they have extreme weather, but less so in areas where we don't.

[Vegas Claret]

That's pretty much what I'm on about. Extreme weather alert systems are very useful in areas where they have extreme weather, but less so in areas where we don't.

You seem to be getting worked up about it and for the life of me I don't know why. If a child goes missing surely to goodness it's better folks know about it ? I genuinely can't understand why anyone would have an issue with it. Now, if you are getting an alert because it's drizzling in Padiham then that's different and I would be with you 100%

Honestly though, I've had a maximum of 5 alerts in 14 years and it is nowt, I actually think you can even turn them off in your phone settings anyway

I will also add though that if any Government can screw it up and use it for stupid things then it would by the UK lot !

[Jakubclaret]

You seem to be getting worked up about it and for the life of me I don't know why. If a child goes missing surely to goodness it's better folks know about it ? I genuinely can't understand why anyone would have an issue with it. Now, if you are getting an alert because it's drizzling in Padiham then that's different and I would be with you 100%

Honestly though, I've had a maximum of 5 alerts in 14 years and it is nowt, I actually think you can even turn them off in your phone settings anyway

I will also add though that if any Government can screw it up and use it for stupid things then it would by the UK lot !

It’d be all over Facebook anyway you only have to break wind & everybody knows about it, I’d trust the power of Facebook & community posts than something that might ping randomly in a pocket.