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ABC News
ABC News
National
political reporter Nicole Hegarty 

New emergency warning service would allow instant texts in 'critical' disaster situations under $10 million federal budget upgrade

The new emergency alert system will be developed over the next 18 months.  (Supplied: Markus Dirnberger)

The federal government will upgrade emergency warnings and text alerts and improve interstate communication for first responders, with more than $10 million allocated in next week's federal budget.

A new National Messaging System would replace the current SMS system which often becomes overrun during emergencies, delaying messages from filtering through.

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