Emergency alert on phone? Don’t panic. Here’s what it is about

Have you received an emergency alert on your phone this morning? Don’t panic – it’s just the Centre testing its emergency alert system. But what happened? And what is this about? Let’s take a closer look:  What happened? As per NDTV, on Friday morning, many android users heard their phones beep. The following message flashed across their smartphone screens at 12.19 pm. “This is a SAMPLE TESTING MESSAGE sent through Cell Broadcasting System by Department of Telecommunication, Government of India. Please ignore this message as no action is required from your end. This message has been sent to TEST Pan-India Emergency Alert System being implemented by National Disaster Management Authority. It aims to enhance public safety and provide timely alerts during emergencies.” As per The Times of India, the message continued to flash until users hit ‘okay’ on their phones.

After pressing ‘okay’, users were then asked if they wanted to continue to receive such messages.

Users could then choose to press either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Why did this happen? This happened because the National Disaster Management Authority is testing its emergency cell broadcast technology. Developed by C-DOT, the system will alert people to danger when a natural disaster strikes. Department of Telecommunications in July said it would in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority be conducting a Cell Broadcast Alert System testing.

This would enhance emergency communication during disasters and ensure the safety and well-being of citizens.

The DoT said tests of Cell Broadcast Alert System would be conducted on every Telecom Service Provider. [caption id=“attachment_13127612” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The National Disaster Management Authority’s office in New Delhi. ANI[/caption] These tests will be performed from time to time in various regions across country to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency alert broadcasting capabilities of the systems in place, of various Mobile Operators and Cell Broadcast System. The Cell Broadcast Alert System is a state-of-the-art technology that allows us to send critical and time-sensitive messages for disaster management to all mobile devices within a designated geographical area, irrespective of whether the recipients are residents or visitors. This ensures that important emergency information reaches as many people as possible in a timely manner. It is used by government agencies and emergency services to inform the public about potential threats and keep them informed during critical situations. Cell Broadcast is commonly used to deliver emergency alerts, such as severe weather warnings (e.g., Tsunami, Flash Flood, Earthquake, etc), public safety messages, evacuation notices and other critical information. During the testing period, people may receive simulated emergency alerts on their mobile devices. We assure that these alerts are part of the planned testing process and do not indicate an actual emergency. Each test alert will be clearly labeled as a “SAMPLE TESTING MESSAGE” to avoid confusion. As per NDTV, android users had previously received similar messages on 17 August and 20 July. The messages were sent in both Hindi and English and were received by Android phone users on Jio, BSNL and Vodafone Idea network. NDMA sources told NDTV in August that the government is planning to roll out  the system in the next six to eight months. “The second phase of the Common Alerting Protocol was tested today. In the coming months, the government plans to carry out test runs for broadcasting urgent disaster alert messages on TV, Radio and at Railway Stations,” they added. C-DOT CEO Rajkumar Upadhyay in August told PTI that the technology is currently available only with a foreign vendor and hence C-DOT is developing it in-house. “The cell broadcast technology is under development. It will be implemented by NDMA for sending out alert at the time of disaster directly on the mobile phone screens. It is currently being tested on Jio and BSNL network,” Upadhyay said. He added that there are various versions of the cell broadcast messages that are required to be developed to propagate through telecom networks. “The trials will be conducted at pan-India level,” Upadhyaya added. ‘NDMA to expand system to other mediums’ The NDMA also plans to expand the warning system to other mediums such as television and radio to keep citizens immediately informed and better prepared for severe weather. “The text-based system is part of phase one of the project. TV, radio and other mediums are being covered in phase two which will be implemented by the end of the year," a senior NDMA official told PTI. With the amalgamation of technology and communication, the NDMA aims to surpass the limitations of text-based warnings, he said. Before text messages, the NDMA used to issue such early warnings through the ‘National Disaster Alert Portal’ and a mobile application called “Sachet”. The agency had conceived the “Common Alerting Protocol Based Integrated Alert System” to bring together the alert generating agencies, including the India Meteorological Department, Central Water Commission, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and Forest Survey of India, alert disseminating agencies and state “This is the largest early warning programme in the world called ‘common alerting protocol’. People don’t need to subscribe to WhatsApp, email or SMS groups. You will get the alert automatically,” another NDMA official said. The messages will be broadcast in two languages, including the local language, alerting people about the impending severe weather event. Going ahead, mobile phones will vibrate upon receiving such alerts, he said. “If you’re watching television, the TV screen will flash the warning message and there will be audio too. If you’re listening to a song on the radio, it will be cut short and the alert will be aired. This will be done very shortly,” the official said.

He said India will be the only country outside the global north to have a common alerting protocol.

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According to IMD, India lost 2,770 people to extreme weather events in 2022. Of them, 1,580 died reportedly due to lightning and thunderstorms, while 1,050 died due to floods and heavy rains. The remaining deaths were due to heat waves, hailstorms and dust storms. Natural disasters, heavy floods and cyclones, triggered around 2.5 million internal displacements in India in 2022, according to a report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Extreme weather, climate and water-related events caused 573 disasters in India between 1970 and 2021 that claimed 1,38,377 lives, according to data from the World Meteorological Department. With inputs from agencies