New Emergency Alerts Service – Key Messages for Vulnerable Groups

• The new Emergency Alerts service is now live. The system will enable people to be contacted by the Government and emergency services via their mobile phone if their lives are at risk in an emergency
• On Sunday 23 April the service will be tested and you’ll get an alert on your mobile phone if its compatible
• Vulnerable Groups need to be made aware of important information about this

The new Emergency Alerts service is now live. The system will enable people to be contacted via
their mobile phone if their lives are at risk in an emergency. The service will be used to warn you
about life-threatening emergencies such as severe flooding.

Emergency Alerts are messages sent to all compatible 4G and 5G mobile phones when there’s a
danger to your life, health or property in the area you’re located. They don’t need your phone
number or track your location. Only the Government and the emergency services can send them.
You’ll be able to check that an alert is genuine at: https://www.gov.uk/alerts. Emergency Alerts will be just one of
the ways the Government communicates with the public about emergency situations. So if you don’t
have a mobile phone, don’t worry – you’ll still be made aware through the media and local
emergency services.

An Emergency Alert looks and sounds very different to other types of messages such as SMS ‘text
messages’. You’ll know if you get an Emergency Alert because you’ll hear a loud siren-like sound and
your phone will use a distinct vibration. A message on your screen will tell you about the emergency
and what you need to do. Depending on your phone’s features, the alert will work with screen
magnification and may read the message out for you having also overridden volume settings. The
unique noise emitted by the phone should also be audible for those who use a hearing aid.

You can opt out of an Emergency Alert, however, we strongly recommend that people do not opt out
of the service, as it is intended to warn you when lives are in danger. If you’d like to opt out search
your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Emergency alerts. If this does not work, please
contact your device manufacturer. For further advice go to: https://www.gov.uk/alerts/opt-out 

In the future you may receive an alert on your phone, if you do, please read the alert carefully and
follow the instructions. Please remember their look and feel in case you receive one again. To find
out more about how it works, watch our video at: https://www.gov.uk/alerts

Reasons you might get an alert

You may get alerts about:

• severe flooding
• fires
• extreme weather

Emergency alerts will only be sent by:

• the emergency services
• government departments, agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies

What happens when you get an emergency alert

Your mobile phone or tablet may:

• make a loud siren-like sound, even if it’s set on silent
• vibrate
• read out the alert

The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

An alert will include a phone number or a link to the GOV.UK website for more information.

You’ll get alerts based on your current location - not where you live or work. You do not need to turn on location services to receive alerts.

What you need to do

When you get an alert, stop what you’re doing and follow the instructions in the alert.

If you’re driving or riding when you get an alert

• You should not read or otherwise respond to an emergency alert whilst driving or riding a motorcycle.
• If you are driving, you should continue to drive and not respond to the noise or attempt to pick up the mobile phone and deal with the message.
• Find somewhere safe and legal to stop before reading the message. If there is nowhere safe or legal to stop close by, and nobody else is in the vehicle to read the alert, tune into live radio and wait for bulletins until you can find somewhere safe and legal to stop.

If you cannot receive emergency alerts

If you do not have a compatible device, you’ll still be informed about an emergency. The emergency services have other ways to warn you when there is a threat to life.

If you’re deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted

If you have a vision or hearing impairment, audio and vibration attention signals will let you know you have an emergency alert.

If you’re affected by Domestic Abuse

The national alert service will be tested on 23 April, and will see a loud siren like sound emitted from mobile phones. For those for whom this could cause danger, there is the option to switch off the alert.

You can opt out of an Emergency Alert, however, we strongly recommend that people do not opt out of the service, as it is intended to warn you when lives are in danger. If you’d like to opt out search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Emergency alerts. If this does not work, please contact your device manufacturer. For further advice go to: https://www.gov.uk/alerts/opt-out 

Alert languages

Emergency alerts will be sent in English. In Wales, they may also be sent in Welsh.

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