Public emergency alerts to be sent to all UK smartphones on 23rd April

EssexExile

chrisw said:

For anyone who remembers the 80s, a visit to the Hack Green secret nuclear bunker near Nantwich in Cheshire is a great day out. This stuff really was taken seriously.

https://www.hackgreen.co.uk/

We had a friend who was a gardener for the council in Brentwood. A big American chap came up to her and asked for directions to the nearby Secret Bunker, "I'm afraid I can't help" she said. "Does no one in this Goddam town know where the bunker is?" he shouted. "Many of us know where it is" she replied "But it's a secret so we can't tell you".

mebu60

In the Netherlands the public warning sirens are tested at 12 noon on the first Monday of each month and twice a year (June and December) they add in a test of the mobile phone messaging. I believe in a real incident they also ask you not to use your phone to keep bandwidth for the emergency services. 
Given their flood risk its a prudent system to have. There's not (m)any recent UK government initiatives that I am happy with but this seems to be a good idea. As long as it is used for genuine issues and not trivialities. I presume too that the messaging can be limited by geography to those who need to know. 

Grumpy_chap

mebu60 said:

In the Netherlands the public warning sirens are tested

We still have a WW2 air raid siren installed in the patch of grass outside the local chippie and it is tested from time to time.

I am not sure how many similar devices remain or what coverage of the nation would be served by them.  In fact, I was perplexed by the news from Ukraine reporting at the start of attack that air raid sirens were sounding and I wondered whether we had a similar network.

Grey_Critic

Various points of view on this but the government has decided it will happen so you either turn your mobile off or accept it will happen.

Point of interest - IF they can send a signal to all mobiles can they not also turn your phone on and overide any blocks you put in place - If it was me doing it then I would use technology to bypass what you want.

BikingBud

Grey_Critic said:

Various points of view on this but the government has decided it will happen so you either turn your mobile off or accept it will happen.

Point of interest - IF they can send a signal to all mobiles can they not also turn your phone on and overide any blocks you put in place - If it was me doing it then I would use technology to bypass what you want.

Do we really want to ask what they can do?

Neil_Jones

Grumpy_chap said:

mebu60 said:

In the Netherlands the public warning sirens are tested

We still have a WW2 air raid siren installed in the patch of grass outside the local chippie and it is tested from time to time.

I am not sure how many similar devices remain or what coverage of the nation would be served by them.  In fact, I was perplexed by the news from Ukraine reporting at the start of attack that air raid sirens were sounding and I wondered whether we had a similar network.

Most air raid sirens WW2 style hung on until the end of the Cold War, and they were decommissioned at that point  in the 1990s, the rise of double glazing tooted as they wouldn't be heard anyway.  Any that still hang on tend to be found in areas where chemical plants/oil refineries/nuclear plants are found or for areas that may experience severe flooding.  There are probably plenty floating around in  museums too.

MikeJXE

I can imagine the chaos this is going to cause 

Web sites crashing, phones ringing off the hook 

Getting knocked over in the panic 

p00hsticks

facade said:

forgotmyname said:

facade said:

Can't be that important then.

Still, I suppose "Nuclear strike imminent, get the door off its hinges and hide under it!" isn't much good if you are driving a car....

You don't hide under the door with a Nuclear attack, you remove the door to stand SAFELY in the opening it leaves behind. 

Perfectly safe if you do that, I remember reading the leaflets and watching the TV in the late 70's. Maybe houses were
stronger back then?  Although if you were within the detonation zone it maybe safer to hide under the stairs.

They spent millions on those leaflets, and we can't even remember the sound advice that would have saved us

I have a collection of those government issue pamphlets that I've saved for future generations and I dig out occasionally when I need a good laugh / cry /reminisce. It includes that one (Protect and Survive), and the ones about AIDS, Brexit and Coronavirus....

powerful_Rogue

MikeJXE said:

I can imagine the chaos this is going to cause 

Web sites crashing, phones ringing off the hook 

Getting knocked over in the panic 

Only by fools that don't read it correctly and see it's only a test.

Great idea in my opinion and there shouldn't be options on mobiles to disable it.

MikeJXE

powerful_Rogue said:

MikeJXE said:

I can imagine the chaos this is going to cause 

Web sites crashing, phones ringing off the hook 

Getting knocked over in the panic 

Only by fools that don't read it correctly and see it's only a test.

Great idea in my opinion and there shouldn't be options on mobiles to disable it.

I agree with but there are lots of people on this island who will not know, no matter how many time it is broadcast or advertised in the paper

Or forgot or know but it still takes them by surprise