UK emergency alert set to be tested on this date and time

UK emergency alert set to be tested on this date and time

Alarm to be tested later this month. Credit: Lemonsoup 14/Shutterstock.com

A nationwide test of the UK’s emergency alert service will take place at 3pm on Sunday 23 April.

The government said it would only be used in “life-threatening emergencies”, including extreme weather events like the wildfires and flooding seen last year, according to sources.

Messages will pop up on mobile phones across the UK, along with a sound and vibration that will automatically stop after 10 seconds.

Minister Oliver Dowden said the alert service could one day “be the sound that saves your life”.

The government has worked with emergency services and other entities, including the Football Association, to ensure it has minimal impact on major events for the test later in April.

It will coincide with some Premier League football matches and the London Marathon.

The government said the test will ensure people can recognise a real alert providing clear instructions about how to respond in an emergency.

The alerts are expected to be sent very rarely, only when there is an immediate threat to life, so it may be months or even years before you receive one.

Assistant chief constable Owen Weatherill, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said emergency services would “listen carefully to public feedback” from the test to ensure any future alerts have “a positive impact”.

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