The US has a similar alert system for emergencies and most alerts you see are to look for a number plate because of a recent child abduction:
Except for that one time they accidentally sent out the warning to everyone in Hawaii that ballistic missiles were inbound in 30 minutes
Oops 👀
My bad
Edit: found a wiki on it couldn’t remember the details
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Hawaii_false_missile_alert
We’ve had state-based similar systems before, though they have sometimes been unreliable, which is why this system is being rolled out at the federal level.
But I don’t think we’ll be getting something similar to your amber alerts. The article only describes two levels of alert, one for serious safety threats, and one for a warning that safety threats might be along soon.
We’ve already got amber alerts here, have for nearly a decade, except for some stupid reason the government did an exclusivity deal with Facebook so you only get them if you use their app.
That’s not really amber alerts then, and I don’t care what they call it. The whole point of amber alerts in America is that it’s a broadcast system similar in style to the emergency warning system that this post is about.
Does the siren sound override a phone set to mute?
How about if it’s off?
Find out 27th July!
Germany reporting. My phone stays always on no sound no vibration. It would still ring loudly on alert. But there also are silent alerts (like in Korea) that wont ring the alarm.
Germany has been doing these or a while now, works quite good (the tests at least). It only works when your phone is connected to a cell tower, though, that’s not really a problem over here in Germany but it could be quite a big one in Australia.
I don’t think cell coverage isn’t that good in the Outback, even with Vodafone doubling their network coverage (har har).
One thing that’s worth noting is that you don’t need to be connected to a tower to receive the alert. You could be a Vodafone customer and get the alert if there’s only Telstra service where you are.
Your phone still has to be able to connect to a tower (of any provider), no?
Yes. But if it doesn’t, it’s also highly unlikely that one of these emergency warnings would apply to you anyway. Not many cyclones hitting the deep outback.
Ahhh … bushfires?
Does the German one play a sound too? When I was in Korea I received alert messages but there was no associated “siren” like this.
It does play a sound at full volume. I was in a waiting room at my GP when they sent the test alerts in 2023 or so, it was quite funny hearing every phone in the room going off one by one.
Oh yes, I have actually seen this before now that I think about it. A German streamer received one of these alerts about a month ago because there was an explosion at a chemical plant in his city.
Relevant passages:
There are two levels of alert. The “critical” warning for imminent threat to life, like when a cyclone is about to hit, sounds an alarm and triggers a message on a phone’s home screen. These warnings are compulsory and cannot be turned off.
“Priority” alerts are issued when there is not an immediate threat to life but when people are advised to follow instructions before an approaching emergency, like a bushfire designated at the “watch and act” level. Phones can be set to opt out of priority alerts.
Prior to the national test on July 27, an alert will be sent to nine locations in June, including Majura in the ACT, Launceston in Tasmania, Port Douglas in Queensland, Liverpool in NSW, Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, Geelong in Victoria, Goomalling in Western Australia, Port Lincoln in South Australia and Queanbeyan in NSW.
The test message will read: “This is a TEST alert of AusAlert, Australia’s new emergency warning system. NO ACTION IS REQUIRED. In an actual emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe. Visit www.ausalert.gov.au for more information. This message is authorised by the Australian Government.”
