Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

UK Phones To Get Emergency Alert System To Warn Of Life-Threatning Events

UK Phones To Get Emergency Alert System To Warn Of Life-Threatning Events

A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday, April 23, which will see people receive a test message on their mobile phones.
A siren-like alert will be sent to mobile phone users across the UK next month to test a new public warning system over life-threatening events such as severe weather events, the British government announced on Sunday.

A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday, April 23, which will see people receive a test message on their mobile phones.

The government said the new Emergency Alerts will be used very rarely, only being sent where there is an immediate risk to people's lives, so people may not receive an alert for months, or even years.

While currently not covered, terror alerts could also be added to the list of potential events that would trigger a notification over time.

"We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats - from flooding to wildfires," said Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden.

"It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we've seen in the US and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life," he said.

The Cabinet Office said that working with mobile broadcasting technology, the Emergency Alerts system is set to transform the UK's warning and informing capability, providing a means to get urgent messages quickly to nearly 90 per cent of mobile phones in a defined area and providing clear instructions about how best to respond.

The UK-wide rollout follows successful tests in East Suffolk and Reading as part of an action plan against an "ever-evolving" range of threats.

"The alerts will only ever come from the government or emergency services, and they will issue a warning, always include the details of the area impacted, and provide instructions about how best to respond - linking to gov.uk/alerts where people can receive further information," the UK Cabinet Office said.

The service has already been used in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives, for example, during severe weather events.

"Together with every fire and rescue service in the country, I'm looking forward to having Emergency Alerts available to help us to do our jobs and to help communities in the event of emergencies," said Mark Hardingham, Chair of the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council.

"We've seen this type of system in action elsewhere across the world and we look forward to having the facility here in the UK - by working together with fire services and partners we want this system to help us to help you be as safe as you can if a crisis does hit," he said.

Broadcasting from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency, the alerts are described as "secure, free to receive, and one-way". They do not reveal anyone's location or collect personal data and alerts can only be sent by authorised governmental and emergency services users, the government said.

"Being able to communicate warnings in a timely and accurate manner during incidents is really important to help people take action to protect themselves, their families, and their neighbours," said Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management at the Environment Agency.

"Emergency Alerts is a fantastic addition to our toolbox that we can use in emergency situations," she said.

Emergency Alerts will be used across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and their initial use will focus on the most serious severe weather-related incidents, including severe flooding in England.

The British government said it has been working closely with a range of stakeholders and partners across the UK on developing the system, including colleagues from the emergency services, transport groups and the Environment Agency.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
×