Comment on Public testing of the Emergency Alerts system
Zombie@feddit.uk 3 days ago
If we’ve only got 4 minutes anyway, what’s the point?
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_warning
Natural disasters, invasion, etc will be announced through so many news systems that I think I’ll stick to a nice silent phone.
So far the UK doesn’t appear to have abused the system but America certainly has and we’re ever increasingly becoming like them, so again, I’ll keep a nice silent phone and get a silent notification from the news if anything urgent happens.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 days ago
This isn’t about nukes.
Actually, the amount of people who have mentioned the alert was unexpected/they didn’t know last time just shows how these systems aren’t completely reliable.
I’d also like to draw attention to Storm Éowyn. It was upgraded to a severe red warning less than 24 hours before the storm hit, in the late morning. The whole country essentially needed to be locked down the next day. Someone could have a long day at work and returning home tired, or simply not read the news to find out. I think a lot of people didn’t realise how severe it was until their phone blared at them. (Including my parents, who weren’t sure on whether to cancel their morning coffee with a friend, until the alert came through.)
Nobody died in the UK during the red warning period. Unfortunately, there was one death in Scotland during the amber warning period of someone trying to race the storm home after a nightshift. Someone died in the Republic of Ireland. No deaths in Northern Ireland, despite being one of the worst hit regions.
I do firmly believe the warning saved lives. You’re entitled to a quiet phone, but this system is essential. (Especially with how enshittified news is today- tabloids cry wolf about weather events all the time!)
Most countries don’t, and we have a pretty robust national framework on when they’ll be sent. I do not support abusing the system, but I support the system existing.