A new system that will give the Government and emergency services the ability to send alerts directly to mobile phones will see a "siren" message sent out later this month.
Emergency Alerts have already been used successfully in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives, for example, during severe weather events. In the UK, alerts could be used to tell residents of villages being encroached by wildfires, or of severe flooding, the Government has said.
The Cabinet Office said the alerts system will "transform the UK’s warning and informing capability", meaning urgent messages can be quickly sent to almost 90% of mobile phones in any defined area.
