Emergency Mobile Alerts, Live Test This Sunday Night

Emergency Mobile Alerts will be put to the test, live, on the news this Sunday night (26 November 2017) between 6 and 7 pm. This will be the first national test of this new emergency alert channel which is being rolled out by Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

Director of Emergency Management Bay of Plenty, Clinton Naude, says Emergency Mobile Alerts have been developed to help keep you safe in an emergency.

“These alerts are messages about emergencies sent to mobile phones enabled to receive them. It is expected around one third of phones will initially be able to receive the alerts. This number is expected to rise substantially over time as people replace their phones with newer models,” he says.

“I cannot stress enough that these alerts do not replace other alerting channels we would use in an emergency. In an event we make use of all communication channels available to us,” he says.

What you need to know about this test:

• The alerts are sent using cell broadcast technology, so there is no need to sign up or download an app.

• Before the test you should visit www.civildefence.govt.nz and check whether your phone is up-to-date and can receive the alerts.

• If you feel your life is in danger, don’t wait for an official warning. Take immediate action.

ENDS

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