Emergency Mobile Alert coming soon

The Government will soon be launching a new service to keep people informed in an emergency, led by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (MCDEM).

MCDEM is partnering with other authorised agencies – New Zealand Police, Ministry for Primary Industries, Ministry of Health, Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups and Fire and Emergency New Zealand– to use Emergency Mobile Alert to alert people if their lives, property or health are at serious risk.

The system uses cell broadcast technology to send messages to enabled phones, so alerts can be targeted to specific geographic locations. People won’t need to sign up to receive alerts, or
download an app, alerts will be sent to every enabled phone in the region.

This is an exciting development towards strengthening our emergency alerting systems across New Zealand. But it doesn’t replace existing channels and natural warnings. It’s another channel for warning people when there is a serious risk. We will still use our existing channels, including social media, our website, TV and radio.

A multi-media advertising campaign will ensure New Zealanders know the system is coming and what to do when they receive an alert. We are on track to conduct a nationwide test of the system
on 26 November.

What you can do
Find out if your phone can receive the alerts at www.civildefence.govt.nz. If your phone is turned on, is capable of receiving the alerts and you are in the targeted area, then you should get an alert if it is sent out.

If you would like more information, check out www.civildefence.govt.nz/emergency-mobile-alerts.

Make a plan

Make sure your family has a plan for what to do in an emergency. You can make yours online www.happens.nz/make-a-plan/

In an emergency you could be stuck at work, without transport home. Work through the personal workplace emergency plan to work out what you will do.