A test of BC’s wireless altering system will be conducted this afternoon (November 25th) at 1:55 on radio, tv, and compatible wireless devices.
Brendan Ralfs, Emergency Management BC Director of Operations explained what that alert will look like on your cell phone.
“It’s going to have a characteristic alerting sound known as the Canadian Alert Attention Signal. Emergency alerts that are sent to compatible wireless devices will also cause the devices to vibrate then again on the same compatible devices the Emergency Alert will display an Emergency Alert banner followed by text describing that it is a test of the Emergency Alert System”.
The test message will read: “This is a TEST of the British Columbia Emergency Alerting System, issued by Emergency Management Brtish Columbia. This is ONLY a TEST. If this had been an actual emergency or threat, you would now hear instructions that would assist you to protect you and your family, for further information go to www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca. This is Only a TEST, no action is required”.
This testing of the national Alert Ready system is designed to assess the system’s readiness for an actual emergency and identify any adjustments that need to be made.
A scheduled test in May 2020 was canceled across Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic.