Are you ready?

[Amity Island]

A new danger alert system begins any day now in the UK.

A loud 10 sec siren alert on your smart phone (or not if you don't have a smart phone) is heard and you must then do as you are told. These are not subscribed alerts but automatic.

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

 

[Nige13]

A new danger alert system begins any day now in the UK.

A loud 10 sec siren alert on your smart phone (or not if you don't have a smart phone) is heard and you must then do as you are told. These are not subscribed alerts but automatic.

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

You can also opt out 😛

 

[Nige13]

You can opt out of some emergency alerts, but not the most important ones.

You cannot opt out by subject, only by how serious the emergency is. If you opt out because you do not want flood warnings, for example, you might miss alerts for fires and extreme weather.

Because of this, you should keep emergency alerts switched on for your own safety.

I've done without it it for 30yrs - It'll keep! They should be spending money on how to keep the country running and on Gas and Electric bills first #wasteoftime #inmyopinion
God only knows what they know about us through our phones. Track and trace was bad enough! Thank god thats gone lol.

 

[Robin]

When I was a child, the town I grew up in used to sound the old WW2 Air Raid siren to alert firemen that they were needed to go to a fire. Nowadays, they just text the firemen, so the whole town doesn’t get woken up. It’s just an extension of that. In some areas they still use air raid sirens to alert the population of a flood, whether or not they are in the flood zone. Apparently the alarm warning signal gets sent to a particular phone mast, which automatically sends alarms to any phone currently locked in to that mast. Nobody has the actual phone numbers of the phones being alerted.

 

[Bloden]

My OH has opted out by not having a smart phone. You'd be amazed at the - friendly? - abuse he gets from mates cos he's not on, eg, WhatsUp. So, if a tsunami is about to hit our seaside village, he'll be none the wiser...

 

[Bloden]

There has been somewhat of a movement in recent years away from Smart phones. Perhaps these alerts will convince even more to change back to the old simple phone? the libre is bad enough without adding in further emergency alerts.

Not smart but clever? The return of 'dumbphones'

Why sales of very basic mobile phones, without apps and internet connection, are increasing.

www.bbc.com

I would've carried on with my old Nokia - still got it in a drawer somewhere - if it wasn't for my diabetes.

The only Libre alarm I can get to work is the Signal Loss Alarm, so I have to turn it off (otherwise it rings pretty much non-stop ). The other two worked for a couple of weeks then gave up the ghost completely. Note to self: Must ring Abbott!

 

[Drummer]

I simply can't afford a smart phone - living on a partial pension I have to maintain my grey cells and earn money even at the age of 71.
I was smart enough to buy a house on the top of a ridge - there will be some very expensive houses inundated before the water is lapping at my doorstep, and I have been working to reduce outgoings for decades, but if disaster strikes there will probably be enough shrieking and shouting going on to alert me to the problem.

 

[nonethewiser]

Great idea can't knock it.

 

[Amity Island]

The first nationwide alert is due to be sent on St George's Day, Sunday, April 23, when people in all four nations of the UK will receive the emergency siren.

The system, which is modelled after similar schemes in the US, Canada, Netherlands and Japan, where it is used in life-threatening situations, like tsunamis, wars, earthquakes, lethal flooding and wildfires, (which the UK is well known for 🙄).

Emergency ‘siren-like’ alerts to be sent to every mobile phone in UK

Phone users won't be able to use other features on their devices unless they acknowledge the alert.

www.express.co.uk

 

[Burylancs]

A new danger alert system begins any day now in the UK.

A loud 10 sec siren alert on your smart phone (or not if you don't have a smart phone) is heard and you must then do as you are told. These are not subscribed alerts but automatic.

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

About Emergency Alerts

Your mobile phone or tablet may get an emergency alert if there’s a danger to life nearby. Alerts tell you what to do to stay safe.

www.gov.uk

Not something to do with Putin's nuclear threats I hope !

 

[Ditto]

😳

 

[Amity Island]

Not something to do with Putin's nuclear threats I hope !

In this WIKI entry it suggests they are used for "perceived" threats rather than actual verifiable threats. Whereas sars cov 2 was an invisible and often symptomless threat, and even where there were symptoms, they were so broad and generic, that almost any symptom could be counted as covid.

"a text alert to mobile phones in a situation where there is perceived to be an immediate risk to life. Mobile users will receive an alert accompanied by a siren-like noise, which they must acknowledge in order to use the phone's other features. In an emergency the alert will inform people where the emergency is, and tell them what they need to do in response."

UK Emergency Alert System - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What is a perceived threat?

There is a vast difference between real and perceived threats. Real threats endanger our very existence, whereas perceived threats initiate unwarranted anxiety.

Perceived and Real Threats - Hogan Guards LTD

In the world today, many situations are perceived as threatening. This blurs the line between a perceived threat and a real threat. A threat is something that poses risk or danger to one’s health or wellbeing. A perceived threat, is seen as a stimulus arousing the emotion of fear. It…

hoganguards.com

 

[Bruce Stephens]

In this WIKI entry it suggests they are used for "perceived" threats rather than actual verifiable threats. Whereas sars cov 2 was an invisible and often symptomless threat, and even where there were symptoms, they were so broad and generic, that almost any symptom could be counted as covid.

As I understand it the kinds of expected threats are such that they're urgent, so waiting until they're verified would dramatically reduce the value of the alert. That does mean there's some risk of a warning when nothing happens (and I guess a larger risk of warning more people than are actually affected).

I don't get the feeling that this would have been used at all for the pandemic.

 

[Robin]

As I understand it the kinds of expected threats are such that they're urgent, so waiting until they're verified would dramatically reduce the value of the alert. That does mean there's some risk of a warning when nothing happens (and I guess a larger risk of warning more people than are actually affected).

I don't get the feeling that this would have been used at all for the pandemic.

I assume it’s for cases such as where households along river banks need to know when to get out their flood boards in a hurry. My cousin lives in such a property, and now she’s elderly and needs help heaving sandbags around, the more warning she gets, the better.
Or as happened just up the road a couple of years ago, a baler fire caused a large stubble field and surrounding hedgerows to go up in flames. Having a quick method of alerting the next door camping and caravan site to evacuate, rather than having to run round to every pitch, would have been an advantage.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I assume it’s for cases such as where households along river banks need to know when to get out their flood boards in a hurry.

I think that's most likely going to be the use in the UK, yes. (And I'm sure they can't be that specific, so lots of people in the area who aren't in fact at risk.) I'm not expecting warnings about volcano eruptions.

Quite possibly also for terrorist (or similar) incidents, where people near a dangerous situation might be warned to stay away.

 

[Amity Island]

As I understand it the kinds of expected threats are such that they're urgent, so waiting until they're verified would dramatically reduce the value of the alert. That does mean there's some risk of a warning when nothing happens (and I guess a larger risk of warning more people than are actually affected).

I don't get the feeling that this would have been used at all for the pandemic.

What isn't made clear for these perceived threats is what happens if one ignores the recommendation and are these alerts, alerts, recommendations or law?

Masks were law/mandated/recommended upon no evidence they were effective. Will we begin to see other similar recommendations?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

What isn't made clear for these perceived threats is what happens if one ignores the recommendation and are these alerts, alerts, recommendations or law?

I imagine it'll depend what the alert is, but for the most part nothing will happen if you ignore an alert except that you risk putting yourself in unnecessary danger.

 

[Amity Island]

you risk putting yourself in unnecessary danger.

Only if it is a real threat and not a perceived threat though. It definitely seems to be more for perceived threats.

Of course, this is only version 1.0. What will this look like in 5 years time? Starts out one thing, ends up being something quite different. This is a fundamental shift from the free law abiding public following national laws, to been told directly what to do.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Only if it is a real threat and not a perceived threat though. It definitely seems to be more for percieved threats.

It's a risk. Of course there may in fact be no danger. That's the nature of warnings if they're given early. (Almost always, anyway. Sometimes you can be certain, but not usually.)

 

[Robin]

What isn't made clear for these perceived threats is what happens if one ignores the recommendation and are these alerts, alerts, recommendations or law?

In the case of a flood warning, you drown.