Emergency alert NZ

More than 5 million mobile phones across the country are expected to receive an alert between 6-7pm.

Emergency Mobile Alert messages can only be sent by the National Emergency Management Agency, CDEM groups, Police, Fire and Emergency, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries. “The nationwide test is a way to check our systems, the cell towers and your phone’s ability to receive an Emergency Mobile Alert, so we have confidence it will perform as it should in an emergency,” Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) director Gary Knowles said. More than 5 million mobile phones across the country rang, buzzed and lit up after receiving an alert on Sunday night, during this year’s nationwide test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system.

Kiwis will receive the alert on their phones between 6-7pm on Sunday.

More than 5 million mobile phones are expected to receive an emergency alert test tonight. The Emergency Mobile Alert will go out between 6pm and 7pm on Sunday.

If you feel your life is in danger, don't wait for an official warning. It is not possible to opt out of receiving the alert. Civil Defence Emergency Management Director Gary Knowles said the alerts were to warn people of threats to life, health or property.

The annual test-run of our mobile alert system is back to give you the fright of your life.

Only English. As the EMA is an additional line of communication, people whose first language isn’t English can and should still rely on other channels, especially ethnic-specific broadcasters or social media community group pages. The EMA protocol states it is preferable to “over-alert” a target area because a precise boundary is not achievable in cell broadcasting. Depending on the nature of the emergency, the most relevant authorised agency will lead the response by determining which areas are affected and then creating an alert. Targeted cell towers will then broadcast the alert to affected areas, using a dedicated signal that is more reliable in an emergency, especially when increased traffic overloads telecommunication networks. A protocol agreed to by the agencies establishes that they must use the system “consistently, cautiously, and effectively” in an emergency, and they must not use it in “any way which is unlawful or fraudulent, abusive (eg, spamming any person or group of persons), or contrary to any written directions or instructions” from Nema. An alert message will identify the agency sending it. The protocol states that agencies will issue only “high-priority alerts”. Some criteria, such as how certain and severe the emergency is, and how urgent the response must be, help guide that decision, especially where the information available is incomplete or there’s some doubt about the situation. At the same time, any authorised agency has to judge whether an alert is appropriate. Sent by [User Agency name]. Visit civildefence.govt.nz for more information about Emergency Mobile Alert.” It’s the kind of alert that,during an actual earthquake, a manhunt or even a pandemic, could mean the difference between keeping safe and being at risk of serious harm. Between 6 and 7 o’clock tonight, your cell phone will spring to life, emitting a loud noise as an alert is broadcast nationwide: “This is a test message for the Emergency Mobile Alert system. The 16 local civil defence emergency management groups, responsible for emergency management in their areas, are allowed to send alerts too. Here’s everything you need to know about the emergency mobile alert (EMA). Don’t worry though – barring any actual emergency freakishly occurring in that very hour, it’s just the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) testing what’s known as the emergency mobile alert system.

"The alerts keep people safe and are broadcast to all capable phones from targeted cell towers." The sound will be similar to the mobile alert received when the ...

"If you’re concerned about the alert giving you a fright or waking the little ones, please switch your phone off, or turn flight mode on from 6-7pm tonight," NZ Civil Defence said on social media this morning. "This Sunday, there will be a phone alert you can’t ignore - but don’t worry, it’s just a test." Don't panic if your mobile phone suddenly screeches loudly this evening.