New Delhi: On Friday morning, citizens across India received a sudden and severe emergency alert on their smartphones, sparking speculation of a potential crisiyadavs.
However, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has clarified that this alert was part of a planned test aimed at evaluating the country’s emergency alert system.
The emergency alert message, which bore the headline ‘severe,’ was sent via the Cell Broadcasting System by the Department of Telecommunication, Government of India.
It was accompanied by a message stating: “Please ignore this message as no action required from your end.”
The alert was generated to assess the functionality and efficiency of India’s Emergency Alert System. The message explained that it was a sample testing message sent to test the Past-India Emergency Alert System, which is currently being implemented by the NDMA.
This system’s overarching goal is to enhance public safety and ensure timely alerts during actual emergencies. The test message, which bore a timestamp of 15-09-2023 12:19 PM, was received by numerous smartphone users across the nation. It included the reference number #0888758. The primary objective of this nationwide emergency alert test was to gauge the effectiveness
of the alert system and identify any potential issues.
According to the Department of Telecommunications Cell Broadcasting System, such tests are conducted periodically in various regions to assess mobile operators’ emergency warning broadcast capabilities and the functionality of the cell broadcasting system.