Ōpōtiki Controller reminds community of alert test this Sunday

This Sunday, there will be a loud and persistent alert from your phone. But don’t panic – it’s just a test.

Each year, New Zealand has a national test of the Emergency Mobile Alert system. This year it is on Sunday 22 May between 6-7pm.

Ōpōtiki’s Civil Defence Controller, Gerard McCormack, said that EMAs are a vital channel for letting people know about imminent threats to their life, health or property.

“Most people are pretty familiar with these now. We heard them at the start of our Covid lockdowns and of course here locally, most of us received them during last year’s tsunami evacuation. But each year we need to check our systems, the cell towers and how many phones have the ability to receive an Emergency Mobile Alert.

“It is also important that the public get used to the alerts and know what to do with that information. Each time we practise, we can be more confident that everything will work as it should in a real emergency,” Mr McCormack said.

Figures from the 2021 Disaster preparedness survey reported that 90% of New Zealanders either received a EMA themselves or were near someone who did in the last year. It is an important tool, but not the only channel of communications in an emergency.

“No one way of communicating is completely failsafe, so civil defence uses many different ways to alert communities including radio, social media, and apps. We also encourage people to act on natural warning signs – don’t wait for an official warning. Remember – if an earthquake is long or strong, get gone.”

Ends

Find out more about Emergency Mobile Alerts at https://getready.govt.nz/emergency-mobile-alert

What you need to know:

• No need to subscribe. You don’t need to sign up or download an app. Just make sure your phone is on and capable of receiving an alert, and your operating system is up to date. You can find out whether your phone can receive the alerts at: https://getready.govt.nz/en/capable-phones/.
• Works by geo-targeting. Emergency Mobile Alerts can also be targeted to affected areas, so you will only get them if the emergency is in your area. Sunday’s test alert will be sent to all areas in New Zealand with mobile coverage.
• You can’t opt out. As Emergency Mobile Alert is about keeping you safe, you won’t be able to opt-out. Your phones may show optional settings used in other countries, but in New Zealand we will use a special broadcast channel that is permanently on.
• Who can send an alert? Emergency Mobile Alert messages can only be sent by the National Emergency Management Agency, Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, NZ Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Alerts will only be sent when there are serious threats to life, health and property, and, like this month, for test purposes.
• Don’t ditch the radio. Emergency Mobile Alert is an additional channel to help keep people in New Zealand safe in an emergency and does not replace other alerting channels such as radio, television, websites and social media, or the need to take action after natural warnings. If you feel your life may be in danger, don’t wait for an official warning. Take immediate action. Remember – Long or strong, get gone.
• What if I’m driving? If you are driving when you receive an alert, wait until it is safe to stop and then check the message.
• Make a plan. Take the time to make your own emergency plan which includes what to do, where to go, who can help you and who might need your help. You can make a plan online at https://getready.govt.nz/plan/.